It’s not often that China is called to account for its human rights record. One of those rare opportunities is coming up in just a few days.
The Chinese government’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council is scheduled for Jan. 23 in Geneva. The UPR takes place just once every five years, and it gives countries around the world the chance to raise concerns and demand answers from Beijing about its human rights violations.
Our ICT staff will be traveling to the UPR to help hold China accountable. But we want to carry your voices with us. Please sign our petition today urging UN Human Rights Council member states to raise Tibetans’ human rights at China’s Universal Periodic Review.
The human rights situation in Tibet is urgent:
- Tibet currently ranks as the least-free country on Earth alongside South Sudan and Syria, according to the watchdog group Freedom House;
- Over 1 million Tibetan children have been separated from their families, language and culture at China’s state-run boarding schools;
- About 1 million residents of the so-called “Tibet Autonomous Region” have had their DNA samples taken without their consent;
- China is trying to erase the Tibetan civilization through its policy of “Sinification”.
The Chinese government has also not allowed the Dalai Lama to return home since 1959—and it continues to imprison and torture Tibetans just for showing loyalty to him.
These human rights abuses must be addressed. And the UPR may be our best chance to get China to address them anytime in the next five years.
Unfortunately, the member states that take part in the UPR only have limited time to speak. And in years past, some of them have failed to mention Tibet at all. That’s why it’s so important that you sign our petition to tell these governments that they must confront China over its human rights abuses in Tibet.
Don’t let this vital opportunity go to waste. Sign our petition today!
In solidarity,