Nyima Lhamo, the niece of Tibetan Buddhist master Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, called on the international community to launch a united action on the issue of religious freedom. At a press briefing in New York on Sept. 23, 2019 she said that doing so can help solve the problem of the absence of religious freedom.
Lhamo was invited by Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback to attend the Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom held in the United Nations on the morning of Sept. 23. That event was addressed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
They all stressed the importance of religious freedom, with the American leaders focusing on the fact that this was the first event of its nature ever held at the UN.
Three survivors of religious persecution addressed the event, including Jewher Ilham, the daughter of a Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti, who is undergoing life imprisonment in China.
Following the event at the UN, Brownback gave a briefing at the Foreign Press Center in the US Mission to the United Nations, where he invited Lhamo and five other survivors of religious persecution to speak.
In her remarks, Lhamo talked about the need for a collective and united effort by the international community on the issue of religious freedom. She said the US had provided such an opportunity through the event at the UN.
Lhamo dwelt on the situation in Tibet, where Tibetans continue to be denied religious freedom and many of them, including her family members, are imprisoned.
In an emotional tone, she mentioned the self-immolation by more than 150 Tibetans and said it is their common desire that the Dalai Lama be allowed to return to Tibet.
Lhamo previously addressed the US State Department’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom on July 17, 2019. She also famously spoke directly to President Trump in the Oval Office later that day, telling him, “Tibetan need America’s support, please. We need support.”
Following is the video of her remarks at the press briefing at the US Mission in New York.
