(TibetanReview.net, Mar20’21) – Participating in general debate under Item 4, Human Rights Situations that require the Council’s attention, at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, several countries have expressed grave concern over the systematic human rights violations in Chinese ruled Tibet, according to Tibet Bureau, Geneva, report Mar 20. They were stated to include the US, Canada, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands.
“We condemn China’s abuse of members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang and severe restrictions in Tibet,” Mark Cassayre, the Deputy Chief of the US Mission, Geneva, was quoted as having said.
Mrs Tamara Mawhinney, Minister-Counsellor at the Canadian Mission, Geneva, has expressed concerns over the “deeply troubling reports of deaths in custody of Tibetans.” She has raised particular concerns over “the detention of those standing up for human rights” and called it “a direct assault on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Mr Michael von Ungern-Sternberg, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN, Geneva, has demanded the release of arbitrarily detained human rights defenders and expressed grave concerns “about systematic human rights violations” in Tibet.
Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, former President of the UN Human Rights Council and the Permanent Representative of Austria to the UN, Geneva, has highlighted the severe human rights violations in Tibet, including in the areas of freedom of religion or belief, freedoms of movement, association and expression. She has called for meaningful access to Tibet and China for independent observers, including the High Commissioner. She wanted China to “respect the rights of minorities, including in Xinjiang, and Tibet.”
Petr Gajdusek, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations Office, has called for the closure of re-education facilities and for “meaningful response to the credible reports of human rights violations against minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang.”
Morten Jespersen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN, has also expressed deep concerns over human rights violations taking place in Chinese ruled Tibet.
Kirsti Kauppi, Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN, Geneva, has highlighted the use of sexual and gender-based violence in repression and ethnic cleansing, and expressed serious concerns over “the grave and accumulating repression” against ethnic minorities including Uyghurs and Tibetans in China. She has also expressed grave concerns over “the arbitrary detentions and unfounded trials of human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists.”
And she has called on China to “fully promote, protect and fulfil all rights of persons belonging to minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet.”
Nathalie Olijslager, Ambassador of the Netherlands at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN, Geneva, has highlighted the deeply worrying ongoing efforts of the Chinese authorities in curtailing freedom of expression and censoring offline and online information, especially in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. She has further noted, “China has jailed more journalists than any other country and we call for their immediate release.”
