have expressed outrage at the reelection of China to the UN Human Rights Council and demanded that the member states of the global body use this as an opportunity to hold Beijing accountable for its policies on Tibet that have led to over 120 self-immolations.
“China’s re-election to the UN Human Rights Council is the opposite of what one million people worldwide wanted, and denies the realities on the ground in Tibet, where urgent change is needed,” said Tenzin Jigme of the International Tibet Network.
“In the past four years, over 120 people have set themselves on fire in Tibet to protest the conditions there, yet China has been allowed to walk onto the Human Rights Council as if nothing needs to change.
“Only on Tuesday the critical importance of urgent action on Tibet was again underlined when yet another Tibetan self-immolated; a young monk named Tsering Gyal,” he said.
China along with 13 other countries was elected yesterday to the 47-member Geneva-based Council for a three-year term.
“One million people know this isn’t right – UN General Assembly members should be ashamed of this outcome, which makes a mockery of the Human Rights Council,” alleged Iona Liddell of Tibet Justice Center. “In order to redress this injustice, UN member states must unite for Tibet and hold China to account for its human rights violations. From now on China must be made to demonstrate its commitment to human rights as a Council member at every opportunity,” he said.
“We will now take the voices of a million people to our capitals and demand that they ensure China doesn’t turn the Human Rights Council into a puppet show for violators.
Our governments must spare no effort in following through with the recommendations made on Tibet during China’s recent Universal Periodic Review,” he said. In the run-up to the UN vote, Tibet advocates from around the world lobbied Foreign Ministries and New York-based diplomats and delivered a massive petition from online advocacy organisation Avaaz, signed by over one million supporters, to 193 UN Missions. (PTI)
