(TibetanReview.net, Sep04’25) – Two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Curtis (R-UT), have on Sep 3 written a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the immediate appointment of a qualified Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, as required by law. During the previous Trump administration (2017-21), a coordinator was appointed only towards the fag end of the President’s term and served for just a little over three months.
The senators have stressed that this role is essential to protecting Tibetans’ human rights and cultural survival in the face of mounting repression by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Emphasizing the urgency of the situation which warrants an immediate appointment, Senator Rosen has said, “From weaponizing water resources to transnational repression, property seizures, involuntary resettlement, arbitrary detentions, and forced education policies aimed at degrading the preservation of Tibetan language and culture, the PRC is aggressively expanding the means through which it systematically represses the Tibetan people.”
The Senator wanted the United States to “send a strong message that we will continue standing up for the rights of the Tibetan people.”
Senator Rosen has been a leading voice in pushing back against the PRC’s coercive tactics and growing global influence and has been vocal on the situation in Tibet. In July, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the FY26 defence bill, which included her provision requiring a broader report on China’s military strategy in Tibet, including its use of water as a weapon.
During the previous Trump administration, Robert A Destro was appointed by Mike Pompeo as the special coordinator, but could only serve from Oct 14, 2020, to Jan 20, 2021. Pompedo himself served only from 2018 to Jan 2021 and was preceded by Thomas Shannon (acting), Rex Tillerson (2017–2018), and John Sullivan (acting) in that order.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken appointed Uzra Zeya as the special coordinator from Dec 20, 2021, and servedfor most of President Joe Biden’s term.
The first person to hold the position of US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues was Gregory Craig. He was appointed on Oct 31, 1997 by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The position was formally created under the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002.