Human rights organizations are concerned about the disappearances of people in the Tibetan region

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India]September 1 (ANI): The United Nations, the European Union and the Central Tibetan Administration in a joint statement expressed concern over the ongoing forced disappearances orchestrated by China in the Tibetan region.

The organizations strongly condemned the continuing rampant number of enforced disappearances of Tibetans in the region, which are the result of the Chinese government's practice of torture and ill-treatment of Tibetans in custody.

The statement said that every year Chinese authorities arbitrarily arrest and forcibly disappear several Tibetans, including religious and community leaders, writers and musicians, and human rights and environmental activists, mainly for their expression of Tibetan national identity and resistance to repressive policies. In most of these cases, they end in prison sentences based on trumped-up charges, while many of those detained remain invisible.

“The systematic practice of enforced disappearance at any time and under any circumstances is a crime against humanity. The first article of the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance stipulates that any act of enforced disappearance constitutes a violation of the rules of international law, which guarantees the right to recognition as a person before the law, the right to liberty and security of the person, and the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” the statement said.

The statement further states that despite its UN membership, China consistently demonstrates a complete disregard for international human rights standards and systematically violates global standards in its treatment of Tibetans and people of other nationalities whom it oppresses.

One of the most notorious cases of enforced disappearance, according to the statement, is the abduction of Tibet's 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, one of the highest Tibetan Buddhist leaders. At just six years old, the Chinese government abducted the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 along with his family and Chadrel Rinpoche. Despite repeated expressions of concern on the matter and intervention by various UN bodies to date, China has still withheld credible information about his whereabouts or well-being for the past 29 years, making him one of the longest-held political prisoners in the world, it added.

The joint statement also said that this year alone, several Tibetans have been “disappeared” after Chinese authorities arbitrarily detained them for a variety of reasons, ranging from holding peaceful protests to publishing books.

These cases include the enforced disappearances of Phuntsok, Pema, Samten, Zomkyi, Tamdin and Lobsang Thabkhey, whose fate remains unknown. A prominent case in recent years is the arbitrary arrest of Gendun Lhundup in 2020. Even more than three years after his arbitrary arrest, his family knows nothing about his whereabouts and well-being, the statement said.

Enforced disappearances have an impact on the victim, but the debilitating effect on family members who remain ignorant of the fate of their loved ones for long periods of time is horrific. Recently, reports from Tibet included the tragic death of Phude, the 53-year-old Tibetan mother of writer Tenzin Khenrab. Her 29-year-old son was arrested in 2023 for storing a photograph of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as several e-books on his phone. Despite their repeated attempts, Chinese police refused to disclose any information about her son's whereabouts. After suffering from depression for over a year worrying about her son's well-being, the mother, Phude, passed away earlier this year on February 17, the statement added.

The human rights organizations called on international governments and organizations, including the United Nations, human rights organizations, human rights activists and supporters around the world to continue to put pressure on China to disclose information about the arbitrarily arrested and disappeared Tibetans, including the case of the 11th Panchen Lama.

Enforced disappearances constitute a serious violation of international human rights standards and China is committed to ensuring that cases of enforced disappearances are thoroughly investigated and that it provides full reparations to those who have been subjected to this inhumane and illegal act under international standards, it said. (ANI)