The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), through its Tibet Bureau based in Geneva, submitted a report on “ the continuing use of torture against the Tibetan people” to “the United Nations Committee Against Torture on Violations by the People’s Republic of China Against The People of Tibet”, on 29 September.
The report details narrative of events from 2000 to 2008, presenting evidence of torture used against Tibetan people under the political and religious repression imposed by the Chinese government in Tibet.
It presents a detailed account of the Chinese government’s violations of the convention against torture by attributing those with ‘evidence of torture in connection with recent protests in Tibet’, ‘torture as a common practice in Tibet even before the March demonstration’, ‘failure of China’s legal system to ban the use of torture’, ‘absence of independent judiciary’ and the ‘Chinese authorities threat of disciplinary action against lawyers’.
The report, which evaluates China’s compliance with the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (torture convention) with respect to Tibet, said, “China continues to engage in widespread and systematic violations of the torture conventions against the Tibetan people.”
China has also failed to make genuine progress in the areas of concern noted by this committee in its ‘1996 and 2000 Concluding Observations’, which is supported by the recent findings of the Special Rapporteur on Torture, following his mission to China, noted the report.
The report asked the committee to examine China’s compliance with the Torture Convention taking into consideration the significant events in Tibet since 2000.
It said significant measures were implemented to curtail and repress the free practice of religion in Tibet, to deny the Tibetan people any meaningful right of free expression, and to marginalize Tibetans through a concerted effort to support the influx of Chinese settlers.
These measures have been enforced through police intimidation, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture used to punish and terrorise the Tibetan communities. Indeed, across a broad array of economic, social and political rights, the Chinese government has failed the Tibetan people, the report added.
The report is critical of the increasing repression and economic marginalisation of Tibetans, which culminated in a sustained and widespread series of protests – almost all peaceful – throughout Tibet beginning on 10 March 2008.
Chinese authorities responded by detaining thousands of Tibetans, many of whom were treated with extreme brutality both while being detained and during their detention, shooting and killing unarmed protesters, locking monks and nuns inside their monasteries, imposing a heavy police and military presence in all cities and most towns of any significant size as well as remote nomad encampments, severely restricting travel within Tibet, and instituting “patriotic education” campaigns within the monasteries, the reported noted.
The Central Tibetan Administration urges the United Nations Committee Against Torture to scrutinize China’s compliance with the Torture Convention with particular attention to Tibet.
It also requests the committee to address the continuing use of torture against the Tibetan people and submit recommendations for its consideration in order to end the use of torture in Tibet.
In
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment