To
Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Date: 9th March, 2015
Subject: Seeking immediate intervention to improve the human rights situation inside Tibet
Your Excellency,
The Central Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) is writing this appeal letter to seek your immediate intervention to stop China from its continuous implementation of harsh policies to crackdown the freedom of Tibetans living inside Tibet.
The human rights situation inside Tibet is continously deteriorating; recently China has deployed large numbers of Chinese security forces and increase the number of check points in Tibetan populated counties in Gansu and Qinghai provinces. The security fources are closely monitoring Tibetans gathered for religious festivals.[1]
According to the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy’s (TCHRD) annual report on ‘Human Rights Situation inside Tibet’[2], there are 2110 listed Tibetan political prisoners in Chinese prisons. Under the harsh surveillance of Chinese authorities, there is random detention and criminalization of the family members, friends, and neighbors of the individuals arrested and convicted. Moreover, between February 2009 to present day, 137 Tibetans inside Tibet have self-immolated and called for freedom of Tibetan people and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
China has been claiming that it has improved the social system and modernized Tibet extensively. However, in reality, most of the remote parts of the Tibet are still neglected from the progress. According to the report published by the TCHRD on the right to health ‘In the Shadow of Development: Maternal and Child Health in Crisis in Tibet‘[3], the serious inadequate system of public healthcare has resulted poor maternal and child health in Tibetan regions.
On the significant occasions of 56th anniversary of Tibetan National and Women’s Uprising days, TWA would like to urge Your Excellencey to arrange a committee to go inside Tibet and investigate the real human rights situation of Tibetans living inside Tibet.
TWA also would like to appeal Your Excellency to pressure China to resume the Sino-Tibetan dialogue with envoys of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama and Central Tibetan Administration. We believe that this Middle Way Policy calling for dialogue is the best way forward to resolve the long-standing Tibetan political issue.
Yours sincerely,
Tashi Dolma
President
Central Tibetan Women’s Association
[1] http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/tightens-03032015164157.html
[2] http://www.tchrd.org/2015/02/annual-report-2014-human-rights-situation-in-tibet/
[3] http://www.tchrd.org/2015/03/tchrd-report-documents-crisis-of-maternal-and-child-health-in-tibet/