Tibet calls for UN fact-finding mission to address atrocities by China

LHASA: Commemorating the 110th anniversary of Tibet's Declaration of Independence Tibet has called for an independent fact-finding mission from the United Nations (UN).

The request was to hold China accountable for the mistreatment of Tibet's people and culture, reported Tibet Rights Collective (TRC).In the declaration of Tibet's independence on February 13, 1913, the 13th Dalai Lama proclaimed that his country had been independent for well over 1000 years.

This was the incident that marked an end to the period of domination by China's Qing (Manchu) dynasty. However, the period of self-rule and independence ended very soon for Tibet as in 1949 China unlawfully occupied Tibet.

According to the report by TRC a Delhi-based research institute, The United Nations, as an institution, has largely failed to hold China accountable for the ongoing crisis in Tibet. Referring to the last human rights commissioner's visit 24 years ago in 1985.

TRC report also claimed that no meaningful investigations have taken place regarding the incidents that are happening in Tibet regarding the mistreatment of Tibetans.

As arbitrary detentions, prison deaths, self-immolation incidents and enforced disappearances still continue to happen in the area.The fact-finding and investigative missions from the UN must consider the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) harmful "environmental policies" in Tibet, and question CCP about the whereabouts of Tibet's Panchen Lama, who was abducted in 1995.

The report also highlights that the CCP has been aggressively focusing on controlling the process of narratives around the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama and Sinicizing Tibetan religion, language, culture, tradition and education.

However, recently UN experts had expressed how around a million children of the Tibetan minority were being affected by Chinese government policies aimed at assimilating Tibetan people culturally, religiously and linguistically through a residential school system.

The report also suggested that there is a need to address Tibet's situation whenever there is a discussion about China's activities like the Uyghur genocide and threats to Taiwan and Hongkong.

The report called upon the policymakers to exhaustively address Tibet's issues and call for an investigation into the human rights situation of Tibet.

It is time that UN sends an independent Fact-Finding Mission to Tibet, the world's Third Pole. As we celebrate the 110th anniversary of Tibet's Independence Day, let us urge the UN to stay true to its commitments and avowed aim of standing up for Human Rights.