(TibetanReview.net, Jun18’25) – The UN’s top human rights official has on Jun 16 criticized China’s record in Tibet during the Jun 17 presentation of his assessment of the current global human rights landscape at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
In particular, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has voiced concerns over “ongoing infringements on cultural and other rights” in Tibet and called for the “release of all individuals detained for exercising their rights, and to align legislation and policies with international human rights law”, according to Tibet.net Jun 17.
Referring to the crisis of human rights across the world, Türk has said that “behind each crisis, people are suffering” and cautioned that today’s growing disregard for international agreements threatens global peace and justice.
Recalling the United Nations’ founding mission – “to end war, reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, and promote justice and international law” – Türk has, nevertheless, expressed satisfaction over the fact that despite past challenges, international cooperation had brought tangible progress, including higher life expectancy, expanded education, and stronger legal frameworks for human rights and disarmament.
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As the Council’s 59th session opened in the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Tibetan Community of Switzerland and Liechtenstein (TCSL) organised a peaceful demonstration outside to highlight continued state repressions inside PRC under CCP, said the Tibet.net in another Jun 17 statement.
Around 120 Tibetans and Chinese were sated to have taken part in the demonstration, including representatives from Chinese organisations such as The Church of Almighty God and the Association for the Defense of Human Rights and Religious Freedom (ADHRRF).
Representative Thinley Chukki from the Tibet Bureau Geneva was stated to have given the keynote address, highlighting the gravity of the human rights situation in Tibet and expressing serious concern over increasing transnational repression being carried out by the Chinese government, targeting its overseas critics.