#1HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN TIBET AHEAD OF CHINA'S UPR UPR Info Pre-sessions#2China - Cooperation with Special Procedures In 2018, China accepted two recommendations related to cooperation. with Special Procedures: ☐ “Strengthen cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Human Rights and the special procedures: (Luxembourg). ☐ “Respond positively to the invitation addressed to it by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief" (Poland).#3China - - Cooperation with Special Procedures ☐ Today, there are at least 25 outstanding visit requests to China by UN experts, some of which have been outstanding for over 15 years. ☐ The last UN expert to visit Tibet was the former Special Rapporteur on Torture in 2006. ☐ ☐ The last UN High Commissioner to visit Tibet was over 25 years ago. In June 2022, over 50 UN experts stressed “the urgent need for a complete assessment of the human rights situation... especially in... the Tibet Autonomous Region."#4Recommendation: Cooperation with Special Procedures ☐ Immediately grant meaningful and unfettered access to Tibet for independent observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and his Office, and all relevant special procedure mandate holders.#5China - Residential schools in Tibet ☐ In 2018, China accepted at least 13 recommendations related to children's rights in general. China accepted the recommendations to: ☐ "Ensure access to quality education for all children in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child" (Slovenia); ☐ "Make further efforts to provide the right to education for all without discrimination" (Qatar). China noted at least two others on ratifying further international legal instruments to to promote and protect child rights (Portugal and Afghanistan).#6China - Residential schools in Tibet - Today at least one million Tibetan children between the ages of six and 18 Ihave been forcibly separated from their families and are housed in residential boarding schools. Another 100,000 four- and five-year-old Tibetan children are estimated to be separated from their parents and living in boarding preschools for at least five days in a week. In these schools, Tibetan children are forbidden from practicing their religion, taught predominantly in Chinese, and subjected to intense political indoctrination.#7Recommendations: Residential Schools in Tibet ☐ Immediately abolish the residential boarding school and pre-school system imposed on Tibetan children and authorise the establishment of and subsidise private Tibetan schools. Revise the "bilingual education" policy that replaces Tibetan with Chinese as the medium of instruction and ensure that all Tibetan children are able to use Tibetan in every aspect of their schooling.#8China - Denial of Freedom of Religion in Tibet ☐ In 2018, China accepted the recommendations to: ☐ Respect peaceful assembly and culture for Tibetans (Germany) Guarantee the freedom of religion or belief in Tibet (France) Strengthen the development of laws and systems that protect religious freedom (Peru and Indonesia); and ☐ Respond to the invitation addressed to it by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Beliefs (Poland).#9- China Denial of Freedom of Religion in Tibet ☐ China noted numerous recommendations related to Tibetans' religious rights, including: ☐ Ceasing interference in the selection and education of religious leaders, such as Tibetan Buddhist lamas (United States of America); ☐ Ceasing the arbitrary detention of religious minorities (Australia); ☐ Ending persecution on the basis of religious belief (Canada). ☐ This demonstrates China's reluctance to provide Tibetans the freedom of religion rights to which they are guaranteed.#10China - Denial of Freedom of Religion in Tibet ☐ A request by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief has been outstanding for over 20 years. China continues to crack down on Tibetans' religious rights: ☐ Order No, 19 of the State Administration of Religious Affairs (1 September 2023). ☐ White Paper by China's State Council Paper (10 November 2023). ☐ In 2020, five UN experts also raised concern that China's law on the "Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism" "undermine[s], in a discriminatory way, the religious traditions and practices of the Tibetan Buddhist" community.#11Recommendations: Denial of Freedom of Religion in Tibet ☐ Cease interference in the selection and installation of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including any future Dalai Lama, which must be determined solely by the Tibetan people, in accordance with international human rights law. ☐ Immediately repeal the "Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism" and the "Religious Affairs Regulations of 2017", which violate international human rights law.#12Thank you From: Tibet Advocacy Coalition; International Campaign for Tibet Over 120 International Tibet Network members