On the Dalai Lama's birthday, Tibet remains in the spotlight on human rights and self-determination

July 6.– Today is the Dalai Lama's 87th birthday. He is a man of peace who has amply demonstrated that he is NOT an enemy of the Chinese people but has shown that he is open to an honorable solution that allows the self-determination of the Tibetan people in close collaboration with the brotherly Chinese people.

That longing that is part of his constant claim for peace and understanding will always live until mutual respect prevails between both peoples and they both enjoy free determination. Exiled Tibetan Movement

Every year, the Tibetan community in exile comes together to help celebrate the beloved leader of the Tibetan people —as well as that of Tibetan Buddhism— and the world’s foremost advocate for peace. In difficult times like these, it’s especially important that we spread his philosophy of compassion and help make his vision of unity a reality. Even in the face of hardship and strife, His Holiness has championed a philosophy of compassion for all living things. This is a guiding principle for the people of Tibet, but his message can give hope to anyone, anywhere, and at any time.

In the meantime, mass relocations continue and 17,000 Tibetans are being forced to leave homes by Motorcade carrying Tibetans being displaced & relocatedAugust following a long-standing strategy of Chineseization that dilutes the Tibetan identity in the former territories of independent Tibet. The new measures are part of a bigger policy launched in 2018 to relocate more than 130,000 people from 20 counties and 97 townships from the autonomous prefectures of Shigatse (Rikaze), Nagchu and Ngari (Ali) in the "Tibet Autonomous Region" between 2018 and 2025.[

However, after decades of China’s occupation of Tibet, His Holiness’ commitment to spreading peace has been unwavering. His recent remarks on the conflict in Ukraine remind us of how fundamental empathy, respect and understanding are:

“We need to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity by considering other human beings as brothers and sisters. This is how we will build a more peaceful world…Genuine peace comes about through mutual understanding and respect for each other’s wellbeing.”– His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “Hope for Dialogue to Restore Peace in Ukraine”.

At the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council currently underway in Geneva (June 13-July 8) the International Campaign for Tibet’s UN Advocacy Team have, on behalf of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, delivered three statements on Tibet. The statements were delivered on the issues of education, climate change, and freedom of opinion and expression. During this 50th session, 42 UN human rights mandate holders published a joint statement stressing that high-level engagement does not replace the “urgent need for a complete assessment of the human rights situation in the country, and especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Tibet Autonomous Region and in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” particularly given the absence of “any signs of political will [by China] to address the concerns raised.” It should be noted that the “Tibet Autonomous Region” excludes Tibetan areas in the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan and does not represent the entire Tibet.

Notably, a countering joint statement delivered by Cuba on behalf of 69 countries argued Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet are China’s internal affairs and should not be interfered with. These authoritarian countries choose to favor the right of conquest, when a powerful country forcibly annexes a weaker one, just as it is happening these days when Putin-ruled Russia intends to take over Ukraine to turn the invasion into a "Russian internal affair".

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