DHARAMSHALA, February 27: A member of Tibetan parliament in exile on Tuesday criticized China’s human rights record in Tibet and its handling of the protests by Tibetans in several regions that saw 127 self immolation protests since 2009.
The youngest member of Tibetan parliament, Dhardon Sharling, was speaking to a gathering of human rights activists and former political prisoners from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Egypt, Tibet, and other countries at the 6th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, a parallel event to the UN Human Rights Council’s annual session.
Speaking on ‘Women’s Rights, Human Dignity and Equality,’ Sharling said the human rights situation in Tibet is marked by deterioration of rights situation in Tibet and massive crackdown on Tibetans. Sharling said Chinese government policies implemented in Tibet pose a threat to the Tibetan identity being lost forever.
Sharling said that the status of women in Tibet reflected China’s lack of commitment to internationally-recognized standards and UN conventions on women’s human rights: such as the reproductive rights, right to education, right to be free from discrimination, coercion and violence.
Sharling recommended that the international community, particularly the UN member states, must ensure that China adheres to its commitments and constitutional affirmations thereby proving its legitimacy of being reelected to the UN Human Rights Council last October. She also asked the UN members states to follow up on recommendations from the last UPR at the upcoming 25th UNHRC. She also urged member states to press China to fix dates for a visit to Tibet by UNHRC Chief Navi Pillay before her second term expires in September.
One of the highlights of this year’s Geneva Summit is the conferring of Geneva Summit courage award to Chen Guangcheng, the visually impaired Chinese human rights advocate popularly referred to as the “barefoot lawyer” who shot to limelight for his works on human rights issues in rural areas of the China.
The Summit is sponsored by UN Watch, a coalition of 20 human rights NGOs from around the world including Tibetan Women’s Organization of Switzerland.
