Document No: 57
Official Resolution of Solidarity Regarding the Critical Situation inside Tibet
Preamble
The Tibetan plateau, the land of snow has been ruled by twelve great rulers and forty minor states for thousands of years. Beginning in the second century BC with the first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsenpo, successive Tibetan rulers ruled whole of Tibet and it emerged as a formidable sovereign power in Central Asia.
Subsequently Tibet was governed spiritually and temporally by the Sakya, Phagdru, Rinpung, Depa Tsangpa and Gaden Phodrang, Tibet was an independent country characterized by its distinctive religion, politics, economy, language, culture and customs.
Around 1949, the Communist government of the People’s Republic of China began its military invasion of Tibet, forced Tibet to sign the 17-Point Agreement in 1951 and completely occupied the entire region by 1959. This compelled His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual and temporal leader, along with prominent religious figures from various Tibetan Buddhist traditions and many thousand Tibetans, to go into exile.
The Chinese Communist government’s brutal occupation resulted in the deaths of over 1.2 million Tibetans, the pillaging and destruction of more than 6,000 monasteries and widespread environmental devastation through aggressive mineral extraction, deforestation, damming and diversion of vital waterways across Tibet. Tibetans have been systematically stripped of their fundamental human rights, including freedom of religion, movement, expression, press and language. In blatant violation of international human rights law and the moral conscience of humanity, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions and imprisonments are routinely carried out as the Chinese Communist government continue to enforce repressive policies designed to eradicate Tibetan identity, culture and language. Tibetans in Tibet continue to endure great suffering akin to a living hell. Over a million Tibetan children have been forcibly enrolled in colonial boarding schools; the Tibetan language has been removed from college entrance examinations; and even on social media platforms like TikTok, speaking Tibetan is prohibited. Similarly, age restrictions have been imposed in monasteries, forcing hundreds of young monks and nuns to be expelled from monasteries. And the forced closure of private schools dedicated to nurturing educated Tibetan youth, such as the Ragya Gangjong Sherig Norbu School in Golog, demonstrates a policy of a broader effort to sinicize Tibetan identity, religion and culture which has been implemented for many years and continues to this day.
Due to the ongoing oppression and persecution by the Chinese Communist government, Tibetans have been compelled to resist, starting with the major peaceful uprising of March 1959, followed by numerous peaceful protests throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Similarly, in 2008, Tibet witnessed a nationwide uprising across its three traditional regions, including Lhasa, the capital city. Since 2009, 157 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest against the Chinese government’s policies and in support of the Tibetan cause. This represents the highest recorded number in world history of individuals sacrificing their lives by self-immolation without harming others-an act of protest for their nation and people in the struggle for justice.
In January 2024, during the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China in Geneva, Tibet-related issues were mentioned approximately 18 times in the report and were discussed extensively. In previous UN Human Rights Council sessions, serious concerns were raised about the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet and the severe restrictions on Tibetans’ freedom of movement within the region, specifically, the denial of travel documents, legal persecution of those engaged in Tibetan language education and preservation and the failure to translate court documents and legal procedures into Tibetan. These and other discriminatory and oppressive practices against Tibetans were widely discussed. Last year’s report strongly urged the immediate closure of colonial boarding schools established by the Chinese government in Tibet, as well as the reopening of forcibly closed Tibetan private schools that had been founded to preserve the Tibetan language and culture.
In September 2024, at the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, European Union representatives expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet and clearly stated that the Chinese government is conducting transnational repression, intimidation, threats and surveillance of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and educated writers. Similarly, in November 2024 in Italy, the G7 foreign ministers issued a joint statement expressing concern and discussion about the lack of human rights in Tibet and other regions.
From June 13-15, 2024, a European Union (EU) delegation visited Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet and Kongpo Nyingtri area. They toured to monasteries, residential schools, resettled households and prisons. Following the 39th EU China Human rights Dialogue on June 16, the EU issued a statement on June 17 calling for the Chinese government to protect Tibetan religion, culture and ethnic identity in Tibet. The statement encouraged more visits from international members to Tibet. It also called for the immediate release of political prisoners imprisoned by the Chinese Communist government on false charges and stop the ongoing violations and human rights abuses in Tibet.
The Chinese Communist government’s mining, deforestation, dam construction and other environmental destruction in the three regions of Tibet have caused and continue to cause widespread natural disasters such as landslides and floods. Recently, on January 7, 2025, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Dingri and surrounding areas of Shigatse in Tibet, causing many Tibetans to die unnaturally, sustain injuries and suffer severe destruction of homes and buildings. When this occurred, people from all three regions of Tibet – U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo – united without distinction to provide extensive assistance which we appreciate and also set a good example for our exile community. However, the Chinese Communist government’s usual claims of “development” and “liberation” were all proven to be lies and immediately after the earthquake, there was no sign of specialized rescue equipment or rescue personnel to provide emergency assistance. Moreover, injured patients lacked proper medical care from qualified hospitals and when Tibetans tried to provide assistance, even this was prohibited.
To summarize, on February 29, 2024, the Freedom House 2024 Report identified Tibet as having the least political and civil liberties among 210 countries and territories worldwide in 2023. The previous research report in 2022 also identified Tibet as having the least freedom. The recent Freedom House report released on February 26, 2025, also states that political and civil liberties in Tibet remain at zero percent. Since the Chinese Communist government’s forcible occupation of Tibet, the situation inside Tibet has deteriorated month by month and year by year to this critical state. The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile has passed resolutions of shared grief and sorrow in successive parliamentary sessions and we consider it important to adopt another resolution of solidarity at this 9th session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
Resolution
- Reaffirms and expresses our utmost respect to the unwavering courage of all those patriotic brothers and sisters who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet, its people and dharma while under the oppression of the Chinese government. We earnestly pray that under the blessed care of Avalokiteshwara, the Buddha of compassion, they may be reborn in the Land of Snow and achieve outstanding accomplishments for Tibet’s religion, polity and people. We also express our profound condolences to their families and relatives.
- We strongly oppose the Chinese government’s sinicization policy which is carried out unlawfully involving the establishment of an increasing number of colonial style boarding schools that separate Tibetan children from their families, communities and cultural identities; forcing monasteries to impose age restrictions and expel hundreds of young monks and nuns; the forcible closure of private schools; the removal of the Tibetan language from college entrance examination and even prohibiting the use of Tibetan language on social media platforms like TikTok.
- We demand the immediate release of all Tibetan political prisoners who are suffering under Chinese oppression including the Eleventh Panchen Lama, Jetsun Tenzin Yeshi Trinley Palsangpo, popularly known as Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and must take responsibility for their well-being and insist that their fundamental rights be guaranteed.
- Historically, Tibet was never part of China and has always been a sovereign independent country. While we stand ready to resolve the current Sino-Tibet conflict through dialogue based on the Middle Way policy, we strongly assert that if the Chinese side continues to avoid resolving the Sino-Tibet conflict through evasive tactics, the Chinese government will bear full responsibility for any critical situations that may arise in the future.
- Due to the excessive environmental damage caused by the Chinese Communist government’s mining, deforestation and dam construction in the three regions of Tibet (U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo), Tibet has experienced and continues to experience widespread natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Recently, on January 7, 2025, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Dingri and surrounding areas of Shigatse in Tibet, causing many Tibetans to die prematurely, injuring others and causing extensive destruction of homes and buildings, which has caused us immeasurable grief. The heads of all Tibetan Buddhist schools, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, have offered prayers and refuge for the deceased, while both government bodies and private individuals have made offerings and conducted prayers. We pray that the deceased will be guided by the Noble Protector of the World that the injured will recover quickly and we offer our condolences to the families of the deceased.
- We express our solidarity with the desperate situation that Tibetans inside Tibet have endured and continue to endure under the most brutal oppressive policies of the Chinese government since the occupation of Tibet, living in unbearable suffering day and night. We pay tribute to the noble intentions, brave spirit and incomparable deeds of all patriotic heroes and heroines, both living and deceased. Tibetans in free countries must seize opportunities to strengthen Tibet advocacy, lobbying governments and other activities with greater unity and determination than before to strengthen efforts to fight for Tibet’s just cause and preserve Tibet’s religion, culture, language, writing, customs and traditions. And so be it adopted accordingly with the unanimous approval of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile on September 19, 2024.
The above resolution was passed with unanimous approval by the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile during its 9th session on 29th March 2025.
* This is an English translation of the Tibetan original, in case of any discrepancy the latter should be considered authoritative and final for all purposes. *
