IND35487 Country: India Date: 6 November 2009

Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA

RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE

Research Response Number: IND35487 Country: India Date: 6 November 2009

Keywords: India – Dharamsala – Tibetans – Employment – State protection – Right of entry

This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein.

Questions

1. What is the situation of Tibetans in India in general? What is their situation in Dharamsala? 2. Are Tibetans subjected to mistreatment by Indians? Do they face discrimination in accessing employment or other services? 3. How are they treated by the authorities? Are they likely to receive effective state / police protection? 4. If a person held an Indian Identity Certificate valid to July 2010, what residence/re-entry rights does this document give him?

RESPONSE

1. What is the situation of Tibetans in India in general? What is their situation in Dharamsala?

A BBC News article dated 17 April 2008 provides brief information on the “large population of Tibetan exiles” in India, and states that “The city of Dharamsala in the Himalayan foothills, where the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government-in-exile are based, is the hub of the diaspora”. According to a September 2008 Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report on the Tibetan diaspora, “Tibetan migration to India transpired in three waves. The first wave occurred between 1959 and the 1970s, when over 80,000 Tibetans followed His Holiness the Dalai Lama into exile”. The MPI report continues: “The second wave began in the 1980s and increased steadily up to the mid-1990s. Between 1986 and 1996, the Indian government admitted 25,000 Tibetans”. According to the report “India has been far less welcoming of this second wave and more recent refugees. According to UNHCR, although the Indian government tolerates these ‘new arrivals,’ like earlier arrivals they are barred from engaging in any political activities. However, many of these newer refugees were denied residence permits, and because existing Tibetan settlements were not allowed to expand, they started becoming overcrowded”. The article also notes that “as India and China continue to foster improved diplomatic and trade relations with one another, the impact on Tibetans, their security, human rights, and place in India remain uncertain” (Astier, H. 2008, ‘Spotlight falls on India’s Tibetans’, BBC News, 17 April http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7352941.stm – Accessed 16 October 2008 – Attachment 1; MacPherson, S., Bentz, A. & Ghoso, D. 2008, ‘Global Nomads: The Emergence of the Tibetan Diaspora (Part I)’, Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute website, September http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=693 – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 2).

Advice on the current situation of Tibetans in India was sought from Professor John Powers, of the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University. Professor Powers provided advice to the Tribunal on 5 November 2009. This is set out below, followed by the information found in other sources.

Advice from Professor Powers

In response to the question of whether the human rights situation for Tibetans in India is changing, Professor Powers advised the following:

[T]he situation is becoming more problematic for Tibetans, particularly new arrivals. For those who have resided in India for more than ten years, the situation is much the same as it has been. They are stateless persons and must apply to the Indian government for travel papers, but if they have a residence in India they have few problems with the Indian authorities if they refrain from political activism. Those who are involved in activism, particularly anti-China protests, may face significant problems. New arrivals are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain Indian government permission to remain or to gain refugee status. Many new arrivals are being forcibly sent back to China, where they face a near certainty of incarceration and torture. India is fearful of China’s territorial ambitions and is trying to placate China, but this only makes China more assertive. In recent months China has strongly demanded that India curtail Tibetan’s rights of speech and protest, and the Indian government has complied. The situation appears to be deteriorating (Powers, J. 2009, Email to RRT Research & Information: ‘Re: Request for information from the Refugee Review Tribunal, Sydney’, 5 November – Attachment 18).

US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

The most recent US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) World Refugee Survey, released in June 2009, has the following information on Tibetan refugees in India:

India hosted around 456,000 refugees, including about 96,000 Sri Lankans, mostly Tamils fleeing fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Sri Lankan armed forces. About 73,300 stay in more than a hundred camps in Tamil Nadu State and 26,300 outside the camps but registered with the nearest police stations. About 2,800 more entered in 2008.

Some 110,000 Tibetans, about 80 percent of whom lived in camps or scattered settlements, lived more freely in the country. Beginning in 1959, Tibetans followed the Dalai Lama to India, settling in Dharamsala in the north. A second wave occurred in 1979 after China relaxed its emigration policy.

…Law and Policy Refoulement/Physical Protection

India is not party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and has no refugee law, but has been a member of UNHCR’s Executive Committee since 1996. The Foreigners Act and the 1948 Foreigners Order implementing it govern the country’s refugee policy. They allow the Government to make orders “regulating or restricting the entry of foreigners into India or their departure therefrom or their presence or continued presence therein.” The Government may also order that any non-citizen of India “shall not enter India or shall enter India only at such times and by such route and at such port or place and subject to the observance of such conditions on arrival as may be prescribed.” India’s Citizenship Amendment Act of 2003 defines all non-citizens who entered without visas as illegal migrants, with no exception for refugees or asylum seekers.

India does grant some Tibetans and Sri Lankans asylum under executive policies, based on strategic, political, and humanitarian grounds, and Bhutanese and Nepalis live in India under friendship treaties. India does not formally recognize UNHCR’s grants of refugee status under its mandate but typically does not refoule them either.

…The Citizenship Act of 1955 states that Indian-born Tibetans may be eligible for Indian citizenship. Those born between 1950 and 1987 can become citizens if they were born in India. Those born between 1987 and 2004 are eligible if one of their parents was Indian at the time of their birth. Tibetans born in India later can become Indian citizens only if both parents are Indians or if one is a citizen and the other is not illegal. Nevertheless, fewer than three percent of Tibetans apply.

Detention/Access to Courts

The Government issues identity documents to Sri Lankan refugees and Tibetan refugees who cannot prove that they arrived before 1979. UNHCR issues certificates to those it recognizes as refugees under its mandate but they are not legal permits recognized by India and do not protect refugees from detention for illegally presence.

…The Indian Home Ministry issues residence permits, which must be renewed yearly, to Tibetans who arrived or were born in India prior to 1979. Formerly, permits allowed Tibetans to obtain identity certificates, which were valid for two years and permit international travel. Indian officials in Delhi and Faridabad frequently harass UNHCR-recognized refugees seeking travel clearances and transfers of their residence permits.

Freedom of Movement and Residence

Local immigration offices impose movement restrictions on some refugees, requiring written permission to travel within specific periods. Refugees possessing UNHCR papers cannot leave New Delhi, as UNHCR’s mandate protects them only in the capital. Tibetan refugees may travel within India using their registration certificates, as long as they obtain permission from Indian authorities and check in with local police upon returning. Although since the end of 2006, the Government has restricted Tibetans from receiving international travel documents (and even then limited them to those present since 1979), in some instances, it approves specific requests.

…The Constitution reserves to citizens the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence. The Foreigners Act and the 1948 Foreigners Order, give the Government the power to force all foreigners, including refugees and asylum seekers, to “reside in a particular place” to “[impose] any restrictions on [their] movements,” and to prosecute criminally anyone aiding or abetting their escape. The Foreigners Order prohibits refugees and asylum seekers from leaving India without permission. Right to Earn a Livelihood

Even recognized refugees cannot work legally although Nepalese and Bhutanese nationals could do so under friendship treaties and the Government rarely punishes employers formally for hiring refugees illegally. Many refugees work in the informal sector or in highly visible occupations such as street venders where they are subject to police extortion, nonpayment, and exploitation.

…Refugees cannot legally own land but Tibetan refugees often acquire land with Indians acting as proxies. Refugees and migrants can open bank accounts if they can provide local addresses and an Indian referee.

Public Relief and Education

The State Government of Tamil Nadu government gives registered adult Sri Lankan refugees food subsidies and 800 rupees (about $16) a month. India also affords public relief to Tibetan refugees, but not to others. Refugees under UNHCR’s mandate do, however, have access to health care on par with nationals.

Refugee children generally can enroll in local schools. The state and national governments pays for the education of recognized refugees and Tibetans could attend with nationals.

…Tibetans refugees, with their Government issued residence permits, can enroll in public schools anywhere. UNHCR offers refugee children training to help them acquire sufficient proficiency in the local language to attend school. Some refugees in New Delhi under UNHCR’s mandate can attend municipal schools and UNHCR reimburses their families for tuition but not other education-related expenses (US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009, World Refugee Survey 2009 – India, UNHCR Refworld website, 17 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a40d2a75d.html – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 5).

Other information

Generally, much of the available information indicates that the situation for Tibetans in India is relatively good. A 13 March 2009 article on the One World South Asia website contains an interview with Thubten Samphel, secretary, Department of Information and International Relations (Tibetan government in exile in Dharamsala). In the interview Samphel emphasises that Tibetan refugees in India are well treated by the Indian authorities (Negi, R. 2009, ‘Living in exile: Gains and losses of Tibetans in India’, OneWorld South Asia, 14 March http://southasia.oneworld.net/opinioncomment/living-in-exile-gains-and-losses-of-tibetans- in-india/ – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 6).

However, an April 2008 article by the Asia Pacific Human Rights Network is titled ‘Tibetan Refugees in India: Declining Sympathies, Diminishing Rights’ indicates that the situation for Tibetans in India may be changing. The article states: “For the most part, India’s treatment of Tibetan refugees has been generous, providing them with political exile as well as shelter and the opportunity to secure an economic livelihood, but the limitations to this generosity are becoming increasingly apparent”. The article continues:

According to the most recent estimates, India is host to approximately 110,000 refugees from Tibet. While the practice of Tibetan refugee hosting has, thus far, been generous and lenient, the legal framework directing the actions of the government afford the Indian government great powers of control and restriction over foreigners, including Tibetan refugees. Tibetan leaders in India consistently state that the government of India has treated them extremely well, but these understandably sincere statements of gratitude fail to testify to a changing reality – both practical and political – under which Tibetan refugees in India must live. Tibetans, as one of the only refugee groups to be officially recognised by the Indian government and thus legally permitted to stay in India, are often considered to be in a more advantageous position than other refugees in India. It is, however, necessary to recognize that the proximity and strategic importance of their country of origin, China, makes their situation politically delicate. As political pressure continues to mount on India from China, human rights observers fear that the practice of tolerance and permissive freedom will give way to subtle and even overt forms of repression, which are technically supported under Indian law (Asia Pacific Human Rights Network 2008, Tibetan Refugees in India: Declining Sympathies, Diminishing Rights, South Asia Human Rights Documentation website, 30 April http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF183.htm – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 7).

An article in The Tibet Sun dated 8 January 2009 reports that the “Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Prem Kumar Dhumal has asked the government of India to introduce photo identity cards to Tibetans living in the state”. Chief Minister Dhumal also stated that “the state Criminal Investigation Department and Intelligence Department are keeping a strict watch on the activities of the Tibetans”:

Speaking at the conference of Chief Ministers on Internal Security organised by the Home Ministry, government of India, in Delhi on 6 January, Dhumal reported to the government that 23,000 Tibetan refugees are living in Himachal Pradesh, and that a mechanism was required to check their identity. The same was requested for the Nepalese population of 25,000 in the state.

He told the conference that the state Criminal Investigation Department and Intelligence Department are keeping a strict watch on the activities of the Tibetans, and asked the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs to introduce a mechanism for security checks for the rest of the Tibetans in India.

He also said that the Himachal government is providing security to the Tibetan government- in-exile and the Karmapa Lama. He requested the Central government to fully reimburse the expenditure incurred by his government for the purpose.

… Tibetans live in India with a stay permit which is regulated through a document called a Registration Certificate (RC), issued by the government of India. Tibetans of age 16 and above must register for an RC. The permit has to be renewed every year. In some places it must be renewed every six months. However, the RC is not issued to newly-arrived refugees, making their lives uncertain and precarious.

The RC is normally used as the photo identity of Tibetans in India. It is also a prerequisite to process the travel document, a yellow booklet, called Identity Certificate, issued by the government of India. It normally takes one year to process the yellow book, but there are many cases of taking up to two years.

The Tibetan Welfare Officer of Dharamshala, Tsering Phuntsok, was of the view that the photo identity card may not necessarily be useful.

“RC is photo identity card for Tibetans. Another card may be an extra thing,” he said.

He said new arrival Tibetan refugees since February 2003 have not been issued RC, except for those attending schools and monasteries. “Their cases are pending with the government of India,” Phuntsok said (Wangyal, L. 2009, ‘Dhumal asks Centre to introduce ID cards for Tibetans’, Tibet Sun, 8 January http://www.tibetsun.com/archive/2009/01/08/dhumal-asks- centre-to-introduce-id-cards-for-tibetans/ – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 8).

Previous research responses look at the situation of Tibetans in India. The most recent is Research Response IND33840, dated 20 October 2008. Questions 1 & 2 of this response provide information on the status and residency rights of Tibetans in India, including those who were born in India. Questions 3 & 4 look at the treatment of Tibetans in India by the authorities and by the Indian community (RRT Research & Information 2008, Research Response IND33840, 20 October – Attachment 3; also see: RRT Country Research 2006, Research Response IND31095, 21 December – Attachment 4).

2. Are Tibetans subjected to mistreatment by Indians? Do they face discrimination in accessing employment or other services?

3. How are they treated by the authorities? Are they likely to receive effective state / police protection?

Questions 3 & 4 of Research Response IND33840 provide information on the treatment of Tibetans in India, noting that while most sources agree that Tibetans in India do not face adverse treatment, recent anti-Chinese protest action by Tibetans in India prompted a severe response from Indian authorities. An April 2008 BBC News article states: “The activities of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) – as the government-in-exile is officially known – are closely monitored but fairly free. Overt anti-Chinese agitation, however, is frowned upon” (Astier, H. 2008, ‘Spotlight falls on India’s Tibetans’, BBC News, 17 April http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7352941.stm – Accessed 16 October 2008 – Attachment 1; RRT Research & Information 2008, Research Response IND33840, 20 October – Attachment 3).

A perusal of more recent media indicates that Indian authorities continue to crackdown on anti-Chinese protest action by Tibetans in India. Articles dated 1 October 2009 in The China Post and Indian Express report that “[p]olice detained nearly two dozen Tibetan exiles Thursday from outside the Chinese embassy in India, where they protested decades of communist rule in their homeland”. The detainees were expected to be released later that day (‘Tibetans protest outside Chinese embassy in India’ 2009, China Post, 1 October http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2009/10/01/226970/Tibetans-protest.htm – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 9; ‘Tibetans protest outside Chinese Embassy; 21 detained’ 2009, Indian Express.com, 1 October http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tibetans- protest-outside-chinese-embassy-21-detained/523724/ – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 10).

On 27 October 2009, The Tibet Sun reported that two Tibetans were detained by police in Karnataka for protesting the visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister to Bangalore (‘Two Tibetans held for protesting Chinese FM’s visit’ 2009, Tibet Sun, 27 October http://www.tibetsun.com/archive/2009/10/27/two-tibetans-held-for-protesting-chinese-fms- visit/ – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 11).

A May 2009 report on Asia Free Radio, found on the UNHCR Refworld website, reports that “Five Tibetan monks who took part in widely publicized 2008 protests against Chinese rule have arrived safely in the Indian capital after eluding Chinese security forces for more than a year” (‘Protest monks escape Tibet’ 2009, UNHCR Refworld website, source: Radio Free Asia, 9 May http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a1ffccca.html – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 12).

A Taipei Times article dated 3 March 2009 reports fears of Tibetan asylum seekers in Taiwan of being repatriated back to India. The article quotes the chairman of the Tibetan Welfare Association who states that “if we are sent back, we may face imprisonment or even execution”. There is no indication as to why the asylum-seekers hold such fears (Lu, M. 2009, ‘Tibetan exiles threaten sit-in’, Taipei Times, 3 March http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/03/03/2003437423 – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 13).

The latest USCRI annual report summarises events in 2008, reporting the following detentions of Tibetan activists:

[I]n March, police in Dharamsala barred a group of over 100 Tibetans on a five-month march back to Tibet to protest the Beijing Olympics from leaving Kangra district surrounding Dharamsala. When they refused, police arrested and detained for them for 11 days. A few days later, police in Dehra, 20 km outside Kangra district, arrested 130 marchers, detaining them for two weeks.

In April, police arrested and detained 33 members of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) participating in an Independence Torch relay in Tohar. A few days later, police arrested 48 TYC activists outside the Chinese embassy in Delhi protesting the previous days arrests. The next day, police arrested nearly all of the 300 TYC members protesting the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Mayapuri, reportedly beating and injuring some of the protestors. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that authorities had arrested 680 Tibetan protestors throughout the month but released them later on bail and personal bonds (US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009, World Refugee Survey 2009 – India, UNHCR Refworld website, 17 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a40d2a75d.html – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 5).

In regard to residency, employment and education rights, a June 2009 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada research response provides the following relevant information, collated from various sources:

While not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees (MPI 2 Sept. 2008; CTC 9 June 2009), India recognizes Tibetan refugees and allows them to legally reside in India (MPI 2 Sept. 2008). According to the 2008 U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) World Refugee Survey, Tibetans in India “received government authorization closest to a residence permit.” A 2008 report by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), an independent think-tank that examines and evaluates migration and refugee issues (n.d.), provides the following information:

Tibetan refugees who came to India or were born in India prior to 1979 received Indian residence permits, which must be renewed yearly. Residence permits are required to obtain work, rent an apartment, open a bank account, and obtain identity documents, which are necessary for international travel. (MPI 2 Sept. 2008)

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) states that Indian residence permits were previously granted to Tibetans easily, but now only the children of Tibetans who arrived in India prior to 1979 are able to receive residence permits automatically (17 Apr. 2008). According to the 2008 MPI report, “India has been far less welcoming of...more recent [Tibetan] refugees” (2 Sept. 2008). Furthermore, the BBC reports that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), many Tibetans are “unable to obtain residence permits once they reach India” (BBC 17 Apr. 2008; see also MPI 2 Sept. 2008) and face “lengthy tussles with officialdom” and must pay “bribes” (BBC 17 Apr. 2008). Similarly, Bibhu Prasad Routray states in a 2007 article published in Refugee Survey Quarterly that bribes are sometimes used by Tibetans to obtain residence permits (81).

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala (9 June 2009) provided the following information on the residency rights of Tibetans living in India:

The Registration Certificate makes the Tibetan refugees living in India legal in the eyes of Indian authorities and [gives them] the right to enjoy all the privileges enjoyed by any Indian citizen except the right to vote and work in Indian government offices. (CTA 6 June 2009)

In contrast, Routray states the following:

Tibetans do not enjoy the same rights as Indian citizens, such as formal participation in politics or the ability to carry an Indian passport, but they are free to work and own property in India. Tibetans who arrived in India before 1979, though tolerated, lack any legally enforceable rights or privileges. (Routray 2007, 80-81)

According to the USCRI, India does not permit refugees to work, but tolerates the informal employment of Tibetans (2008). With respect to land ownership, although refugees are not legally able to own land (USCRI 2008; CTC 9 June 2009), “Tibetan refugees often acquired land with Indians acting as proxies” (USCRI 2008). Both the USCRI and MPI note that specific areas, such as Dharamsala (MPI 2 Sept. 2008), are designated for Tibetan refugees (USCRI 2008; MPI 2 Sept. 2008). The MPI report notes that, in India, Tibetans have “relative autonomy over public education with some public supports” (ibid.). USCRI states in its 2008 World Refugee Survey that Tibetans can attend public school (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2009, ZZZ103171.E – China/India: Residency rights of Tibetans residing in India; requirements for Tibetans to obtain and retain permanent residence in India, 7 July – Attachment 14).

Advice from Professor Powers

In response to the questions of how Tibetans are treated by the authorities in India, whether they are subject to mistreatment and whether they would be likely to receive effective state/police protection, Professor Powers advised the following:

As stateless persons, Tibetans have little hope of protection by Indian police. Most Tibetans live in Tibetan settlements in south India (the largest are Mundgod and Bylakuppe), where they are largely autonomous, but there is a constant Indian military presence. Tibetans must carry official papers with them at all times, and new arrivals are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain them, which means that there is a growing underground population that lives in secret among the Tibetan community and is profoundly marginalized. There is some mistreatment of Tibetans by Indian authorities, but this is mainly directed at those who are politically active, who engage in anti-China protests (Powers, J. 2009, Email to RRT Research & Information: ‘Re: Request for information from the Refugee Review Tribunal, Sydney’, 5 November – Attachment 18).

4. If a person held an Indian Identity Certificate valid to July 2010, what residence/re-entry rights does this document give him?

The information found indicates that an Indian Identity Certificate could only be obtained by those who have residence permits. According to an April 2008 BBC News article, residence permits are only automatically available to the children of those who arrived before 1979. The article states that: “There are ways for newcomers to overcome Indian reluctance to grant residency, but they involve lengthy tussles with officialdom and often bribes”. The USCRI report states: “The Indian Home Ministry issues residence permits, which must be renewed yearly, to Tibetans who arrived or were born in India prior to 1979. Formerly, permits allowed Tibetans to obtain identity certificates, which were valid for two years and permit international travel”. Further: “since the end of 2006, the Government has restricted Tibetans from receiving international travel documents (and even then limited them to those present since 1979), [although] in some instances, it approves specific requests.” According to the April 2008 Asia Pacific Human Rights Network report, “in order to return to India, the document must bear a ‘no objection to return to India stamp’” (Astier, H. 2008, ‘Spotlight falls on India’s Tibetans’, BBC News, 17 April http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7352941.stm – Accessed 16 October 2008 – Attachment 1; US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009, World Refugee Survey 2009 – India, UNHCR Refworld website, 17 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a40d2a75d.html – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 5; Asia Pacific Human Rights Network 2008, Tibetan Refugees in India: Declining Sympathies, Diminishing Rights, South Asia Human Rights Documentation website, 30 April http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF183.htm – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 7).

Advice from Professor Powers

In response to questions of whether there are restrictions on accessing and renewing residence and travel permits for Tibetans in India and what residence/re-entry rights these documents give the holder, Professor Powers advised the following:

The Indian government is increasingly reluctant to issue residence permits to new arrivals from Tibet due to Chinese sensitivities and the numbers of those escaping. Every year over 3,000 Tibetans escape, and India is the most frequent destination. This is a huge embarrassment for China, which has demanded that India end its open door policy toward Tibetan refugees. India appears to be complying and is making it very difficult for new arrivals to get residence permits. Those who leave the country are generally not allowed to return, and so a Tibetan in Australia with an Indian residence permit would probably not be allowed into India. If he/she were sent back to India, it is likely that India would force a return to Tibet, where torture and incarceration would be a virtual certainty (Powers, J. 2009, Email to RRT Research & Information: ‘Re: Request for information from the Refugee Review Tribunal, Sydney’, 5 November – Attachment 18).

Other information

Some information on Identity Certificates is given in the above-quoted January 2009 Tibet Sun article. This states: “The RC [Registration Certificate] is normally used as the photo identity of Tibetans in India. It is also a prerequisite to process the travel document, a yellow booklet, called Identity Certificate, issued by the government of India. It normally takes one year to process the yellow book, but there are many cases of taking up to two years”. Like the USCRI report, most sources indicate that the identity certificates are valid for two years. However, reference to the document being valid for 10 years was found. A personal account of a Tibetan who travelled to Australia in 2007 states that after the journey “the 10-year validity of my yellow book (travel document for Tibetans issued by the government of India) also came to an end”. The article also briefly refers to the fact that the procedure for obtaining a new travel document is lengthy and difficult, and may not necessarily be successful (Wangyal, L. 2009, ‘Dhumal asks Centre to introduce ID cards for Tibetans’, Tibet Sun, 8 January http://www.tibetsun.com/archive/2009/01/08/dhumal-asks-centre-to-introduce-id- cards-for-tibetans/ – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 8; ‘Australia impressions’ 2007, Lobsang Wangyal website http://www.lobsangwangyal.com/reportage/2007/20070901- australia_impressions.html – Accessed 30 October 2009 – Attachment 15).

On 21 February 2008, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) provided advice to the RRT in relation to Identity Certificates for Tibetans in India, sourced from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Indian Ministry of Home Affairs. The pertinent extracts follow in detail.

The Protocol Officer, FRRO, added that the Indian government is very lenient with Tibetan nationals. The Government of India does not undertake any detailed investigations in relation to the personal particulars and/or claims made by the Tibetan nationals before the issue of a Registration Certificate (RC) or Identity Certificate (IC). Tibetan nationals are issued with RCs and ICs primarily on the basis of a report from His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Office (DLO). Once this report is received, the FRRO undertakes basic checks on the client’s claimed residential address in India and then issues the RC and IC.

…In order to obtain a Registration Certificate in India is it necessary for a Tibetan to have a parent, family or a legal guardian in India?

The FRRO representative said that it is not a requirement to have a parent, family or a legal guardian in India to be able to obtain an RC. Any Tibetan national can be issued with an RC on the basis of a report from the DLO’s office and local checks on the client’s claimed residential address.

What other requirements are currently necessary for a Tibetan to apply for re-issue of a Registration Certificate, and would the process involve extensive questioning by authorities?

According to the Protocol Officer, FRRO, ICs and RCs containing discrepancies could be reissued with correct or updated information. The re-issue would depend on the nature of the discrepancy. The reissue of an RC can be done in India or by an Indian mission overseas.

If the client is residing in India, they would be required to fill in an application form for the reissue of an RC along with a form prescribed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for all foreign nationals. The RC will be reissued within one and a half to two months, after a personal interview has been held with the FRRO to understand the nature and situation of the error. A routine enquiry would be undertaken regarding the client’s residential address.

If the client is outside India and is a holder of an RC and IC, he/she can approach the nearest Indian mission overseas, follow the procedures for completing the forms and have a personal interview with the Indian mission. Depending on the outcome of the interview, the Indian mission will either reissue an RC or they will direct the application forms and interview report to the FRRO via MHA for verification. The client will then be re-issued with an RC (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2008, DFAT Report 781 – India: RRT Information Request IND32868, 21 February – Attachment 16). In December 2006, DFAT provided advice in relation to legal documentation for Tibetans in India and the Indian government’s treatment of Tibetans holding fraudulent documents or documents containing errors (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2006, DFAT Report 581 – RRT Information Request IND31042, 28 December – Attachment 17).

List of Sources Consulted

Internet Sources:

Google search engine http://www.google.com

Databases:

FACTIVA (news database) BACIS (DIAC Country Information database) REFINFO (IRBDC (Canada) Country Information database) ISYS (RRT Research & Information database, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US Department of State Reports) RRT Library Catalogue

List of Attachments

1. Astier, H. 2008, ‘Spotlight falls on India’s Tibetans’, BBC News, 17 April http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7352941.stm – Accessed 16 October 2008.

2. MacPherson, S., Bentz, A. & Ghoso, D. 2008, ‘Global Nomads: The Emergence of the Tibetan Diaspora (Part I)’, Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute website, September http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=693 – Accessed 30 October 2009.

3. RRT Research & Information 2008, Research Response IND33840, 20 October.

4. RRT Country Research 2006, Research Response IND31095, 21 December.

5. US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009, World Refugee Survey 2009 – India, UNHCR Refworld website, 17 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a40d2a75d.html – Accessed 30 October 2009.

6. Negi, R. 2009, ‘Living in exile: Gains and losses of Tibetans in India’, OneWorld South Asia, 14 March http://southasia.oneworld.net/opinioncomment/living-in-exile- gains-and-losses-of-tibetans-in-india/ – Accessed 30 October 2009.

7. Asia Pacific Human Rights Network 2008, Tibetan Refugees in India: Declining Sympathies, Diminishing Rights, South Asia Human Rights Documentation website, 30 April http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF183.htm – Accessed 30 October 2009. 8. Wangyal, L. 2009, ‘Dhumal asks Centre to introduce ID cards for Tibetans’, Tibet Sun, 8 January http://www.tibetsun.com/archive/2009/01/08/dhumal-asks-centre-to- introduce-id-cards-for-tibetans/ – Accessed 30 October 2009.

9. ‘Tibetans protest outside Chinese embassy in India’ 2009, China Post, 1 October http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2009/10/01/226970/Tibetans- protest.htm – Accessed 30 October 2009.

10. ‘Tibetans protest outside Chinese Embassy; 21 detained’ 2009, Indian Express.com, 1 October http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tibetans-protest-outside-chinese- embassy-21-detained/523724/ – Accessed 30 October 2009.

11. ‘Two Tibetans held for protesting Chinese FM’s visit’ 2009, Tibet Sun, 27 October http://www.tibetsun.com/archive/2009/10/27/two-tibetans-held-for-protesting- chinese-fms-visit/ – Accessed 30 October 2009.

12. ‘Protest monks escape Tibet’ 2009, UNHCR Refworld website, source: Radio Free Asia, 9 May http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a1ffccca.html – Accessed 30 October 2009.

13. Lu, M. 2009, ‘Tibetan exiles threaten sit-in’, Taipei Times, 3 March http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/03/03/2003437423 – Accessed 30 October 2009.

14. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2009, ZZZ103171.E – China/India: Residency rights of Tibetans residing in India; requirements for Tibetans to obtain and retain permanent residence in India, 7 July. (REFINFO)

15. ‘Australia impressions’ 2007, Lobsang Wangyal website http://www.lobsangwangyal.com/reportage/2007/20070901- australia_impressions.html – Accessed 30 October 2009.

16. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2008, DFAT Report 781 – India: RRT Information Request IND32868, 21 February.

17. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2006, DFAT Report 581 – RRT Information Request IND31042, 28 December.

18. Powers, J. 2009, Email to RRT Research & Information: ‘Re: Request for information from the Refugee Review Tribunal, Sydney’, 5 November.