(TibetanReview.net, Mar05’24) – In a departure from the much-criticised reticence of most of his predecessors towards taking on China over its abysmal record in occupied Tibet, the top UN human rights official has on Mar 4 called on Beijing to implement recommendations to amend laws that violate fundamental rights, including in the Xinjiang and Tibet regions.
“I … call on the government to implement the recommendations made by my Office and other human rights bodies in relation to laws, policies and practises that violate fundamental rights, including in the Xinjiang and Tibet regions,” Reuters Mar 4 quoted Volker Turk as telling the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva at its 55th session.
Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who said his office was engaged in “dialogue” with Beijing, also called for the release of human rights defenders, lawyers and other people detained for “picking quarrels and making trouble”, the report noted.
China launched an armed invasion of Tibet after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and arm-twisted the Tibetan government at Lhasa to sign a 17-Poin Agreement in 1951, calling it a “peaceful liberation” of its historical western neighbouring country from feudalism and foreign imperialists.
On Jul 24, 1959, the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) published a report titled “The Question of Tibet and The Rule of Law”, saying, “There is prima facie evidence that the Chinese Communists have by acts of genocide attempted to destroy the Tibetan nation and the Buddhist religion in Tibet.”
The ICJ said at that time that the 208-page report, “which also considers the evidence on other violations of human rights and examines the international status of Tibet, has been sent to the United Nations and to all UN delegations.”
Turk, who also has been criticized for not challenging China strongly enough over its human rights record, made the remarks in his global update to the UN Human Rights Council, noted the AFP Mar 4.
A report by Turk’s predecessor Michelle Bachelet – released just minutes before her term ended in 2022 – cited possible “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang.
The report detailed “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment and sexual or gender-based violence – as well as forced labour. But it stopped short of labelling Beijing’s actions in Xinjiang as “genocide,” as the United States and some Western lawmakers have done, said the AFP report.
While recognizing China’s advances in development and in alleviating poverty, Turk has urged that such policies be accompanied by reforms “to align relevant laws and policies with international human rights standards.”
“I particularly encourage revision of the vague offence of ‘picking quarrels and making trouble’ in Article 293 of the Criminal Law, and I urge the release of human rights defenders, lawyers and others detained under such legislation,” he has said.
China, while not responding to Turk’s remarks, has sought to stress that “peace and development are crucial pillars for promoting and protecting human rights.” Its official Xinhua new agency Mar 4 cited Chen Xu, the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, as having stressed it as “important to acknowledge the diversity of world civilizations, honour the historical and cultural traditions of different countries, and respect each country’s chosen development paths, particularly in the face of growing challenges and obstacles.”
He was stated to have called on states to “refrain from imposing one’s own values and development models on others.”
China is committed to a human rights development path tailored to its national conditions, Chen has maintained.