DHARAMSHALA, October 18: The newly appointed chief of the UN Human Rights’ Commission on Thursday said he would like to visit Tibet and was in talks with Chinese government about a visit.
Tibet activists and supporters have welcomed the remarks of Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, who succeeded Navi Pillay as the new chief of the UN six weeks ago.
Asked if he plans to visit any other area, the new UN rights chief said, “Perhaps it is premature to discuss exactly where I would visit.
“But in the initial dialogue, we spoke of a multi-day visit, so I suspect that I would move around if indeed we are able to get the visit in place soon.”
A visit by the U.N. rights chief was agreed in principle by China when it underwent a review last year at the U.N. Human Rights Council, which regularly examines the records of all U.N. member states.
In 1998, Mary Robinson became the only U.N. rights chief to visit China, including Tibet, despite repeated requests by her successors.
China had rejected all the recommendations on Tibet to the United Nations Review of its human rights record except one, which is to facilitate the visits of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Rapporteur to Tibet.
During China’s second Universal Periodic Review in Geneva on October 22, 2013, more than a dozen UN member states raised concern for human rights situation in Tibet calling on China to change its treatment of ethnic minorities and the rights to freedom of expression, religion and assembly.
