As the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) met today to review the Second Periodic Report of the People’s Republic of China, staff of ICT Europe (Tsering Jampa, Stewart Watters), President of the Tibetan Women’s Association (B. Tsering) and senior monks from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in India, Porte du Tibet, Geneva (Veronique Girandin) and Tibetan Youth Association in Europe (Tendon Dahorstang) attended session of the CRC.
This morning, a large Panchen Lama banner was raised directly across from the entrance to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at Palais Wilson in Geneva. UN staff and the Chinese delegation could not avoid walking past the 4x2m banner with the Panchen Lama’s face and the headline “Missing”.
Members of the UN staff accepted Panchen Lama action cards as they arrived for work and were asked if they could help us find this lost child. ICT staff was able to greet the Chair CRC, Prof. Jacob Doek, as he arrived at the Palais Wilson. Local police eventually forced the removal of the banner, but well after all had entered the CRC session.
The session was attended by a 40-member Chinese delegation led by the Chinese Ambassador in Geneva to oral present their Report. This was followed by the remarks and questions from CRC experts. The Chinese Ambassador claimed that Tibetan nomads can have “as many children as they want” while answering a question on family planning policy in China.
Around 1pm, a press briefing was held at the Geneva Press Club that was addressed by Ms Tsering Jampa of ICT Europe, Ven. Lobsang Dorjee of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery and a representative of Human Rights in China. The briefing was well attended by Swiss media and UN correspondents. In their statement, Human Rights in China supported the call for the release of the Panchen Lama.
Around 3pm, Ms Tsering Jampa, Ven. Lobsang Dorjee and Ms B. Tsering of Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) submitted a Petition to the Vice-Chair of the CRC, Ms Yanghee Lee. The petition was delivered with a symbolic number of Panchen Lama action cards selected from over 200.000 – 3777, one card for each day the Panchen Lama has spent in detention.
The Petition stated: “Our appeal, on behalf of the six million Tibetan people, is that the Committee forcefully and publicly calls upon the Chinese authorities to receive a delegation of CRC to meet with Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents as soon as possible. We also believe such a decision from the Committee in its Concluding Observation on China will be able to send a clear message to the entire world that the international community has concretely taken action on the case of the missing Panchen Lama of Tibet.”
A demonstration outside the front of the Palais Wilson was attended by over 100 Tibetans, young and old, who had travelled from all around Switzerland to protest at the detention of the Panchen Lama. Large banners faced directly across to the meeting room and members of the CRC were seen at the windows watching the protesters. ICT, TWA, Tibetan Youth Association in Europe (TYAE), Sharon Hom of Human Rights in China and Ven. Lobsang Dorjee made speeches.
As the speeches ended, the crowd crossed the street into the area of Palais Wilson directly beneath the large windows of the CRC’s meeting room and chanted Free the Panchen Lama.
The CRC will resume its review of China’s report tomorrow in two separate meetings. The Committee is expected to adopt its Concluding Observations on the China Report early next week.
