Today in Brussels, the campaign “Europe for Tibet” was launched during a meeting with members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The campaign website eu4tibet.org will serve as a platform for Tibet supporters based in the European Union to encourage candidates for the 2024 European elections to pledge support for Tibet and to question the political parties on their position on Tibet.
Co-organized by the Offices of Tibet in Europe and the International Campaign for Tibet with the support of the International Tibet Network, Tibet support groups and Tibetan communities in Europe, the campaign aims at reestablishing a group of members of European Parliament supportive of Tibet in the next legislative term.
By supporting Tibet, members of the European Parliament can defend the EU against Chinese threats to security and interference in European democracies such as transnational repression of Tibetans living in EU Member States. MEPs can promote the principles and values upon which the European Union is based, including respect of human rights, the rule of law, democracy and cultural diversity also in Europe, and they can demonstrate their determination to stand up for the peaceful struggle of the Tibetan people against Chinese oppression.
Speakers at the event included Mikulas Peksa, Salima Yenbou and Ausra Maldeikiene, members of the European Parliament; Rigzin Genkhang, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Brussels; and Wangpo Tethong, executive director of the International Campaign for Tibet Europe.
Background
Between June 6-9, 2024, the citizens of the 27 Member States of the European Union will elect their 720 representatives in the European Parliament for the next five years—the 10th parliamentary election since the first direct election in 1979. It is estimated that more than half the next Parliament will be composed of newcomers.
In the past 30 years, the European Parliament has passed over 50 resolutions mentioning Tibet—the most recent one, adopted in December 2023, notably calls on China to immediately end the boarding school system in Tibet.
The European Parliament has always been a crucial platform to discuss the Tibet issue and promote respect for the human rights of Tibetans. In 1988, the European Parliament became the first parliament in Europe to invite His Holiness the Dalai Lama to address the plenary and present the Five Point Peace Plan for the restoration of peace and human rights in Tibet.
Tibet encompasses many of the important issues facing us today, including climate change, the defense of our democracies against growing authoritarianism, and threats to security in this strategic part of Asia. In a world torn by conflicts, the Tibetan people’s culture of compassion and nonviolence has the power to inspire us all in Europe and be a vector for peace in the region and beyond.
While it has become a silent crisis, the human rights situation in Tibet today remains deeply alarming. Tibet is repeatedly rated as one of the least-free territories on Earth by human rights indexes, and Tibetans face arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearances and torture simply for exercising their fundamental rights.
Access the campaign website EU4Tibet at https://eu4tibet.org.
For more information about the campaign, contact [email protected].
Media Contact
Rigzin Genkhang, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the EU, Western Europe & the Maghreb, Office of Tibet Brussels
[email protected] – +32 2 736 04 49
Mikulas Peksa, Member of the European Parliament
[email protected] – +32 2 284 55 22
Vincent Metten, EU Policy Director, International Campaign for Tibet
[email protected] – +32 473 99 04 40