Tibet-Human Rights and the Rule of Law-Thematic Report-1997-Eng
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Tibet: Human Rights and the Rule of Law International Commission of Jurists December 1997 XINjlANG (UIGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION) INNER MONGOLIA 0 Hotan NINGXIA Golmud• "' ..... .,. ' GANSU X I Z AIN G ONOMOU ) ... .. ~ Chongqrng 0 SICHUAN GUIZHOU OAmnyeMachenlnslilu\e,1997 ~I Di,pct•dtwitmi" Tibet Autonomous Areas with Tibetan Territory claimed by r ..I betweenlndiaand Region (TAR) or autonomous status the Tibetan Government . Ch1na Western Tibet underQinghai, Gansu, 1nexile D S1chuan andYunnan IJ provinces Tibet: Human Rights and the Rule of Law International Commission of Jurists December 1997 Abbreviations CCP Chinese Communist Party ICERD International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CPPCC Chinese People's Political Consultativ Conference CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child FBIS Foreign Broadcast Information Service ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights NPC National People's Congress PAP People's Armed Police PLA People's Liberation Army PRC People's Republic of China PSB Public Security Bureau SWB BBC Summary of World Broadcasts TAR Tibet Autonomous Region TAPs Tibet Autonomous Prefectures UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights 4 International C o m m i s s i o n o f Ju r i s t s - D e c e m b e r 1997 Table of Contents Abbreviations.............................................................................................. 4 Preface ............................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgements.................................................................................... 11 Executive Summary ................................................................................... 13 Recommendations ..................................................................................... 23 I - The Land and the People ................................................................... 27 II - Historical Background ....................................................................... 31 A. Tibet in the Twentieth Century .................................................. 35 B. The Invasion and Occupation of Tibet ...................................... 44 C. Tibet Under Chinese Communist Rule ..................................... 49 D. First ICJ Report .............................................................................. 53 E. Tibet at the UN ............................................................................... 58 F. Second ICJ Report ......................................................................... 62 G. Second UN Resolution.................................................................. 66 H. Tibet's Final Appeal to the UN .................................................... 69 I. Tibet During the Cultural Revolution ........................................ 72 J. Post-Maoist Chinese Policies in Tibet ........................................ 76 K. 1994 Third Tibet Work Forum ..................................................... 80 III - Tibet in China - Autonomy? .. 83 IV - Threats to Tibetan Identity and Culture ..................................... 99 A. Population Transfer ....................................................................... 101 B. Tibet's Cultural Heritage .............................................................. 120 C. Language ........................................................................................ 129 D. Development................................................................................... 136 E. Environment ................................................................................... 162 5 T i b e t - H u m a n R i g h t s a n d t h e R u l e o f L a w V - Individual Rights ................................................................................ 191 A. Legal Framework .......................................................................... 191 1. China's International Legal Obligations ....................... 191 2. Chinese Internal Law ....................................................... 192 3. China's Stated Position on Human Rights ................... 193 4. Independence of the Judiciary........................................ 196 B. Economic Social and Cultural Rights ......................................... 204 1. Right to Education.............................................................. 204 2. Right to Housing ................................................................ 220 3. Right to Health .................................................................... 223 C. Civil and Political Rights................................................................ 232 1. Arbitrary Arrest and Detention - Political Imprisonment ..................................................... 232 2. Torture and Ill-Treatment ............................................... 244 3. Extrajudicial and Arbitrary Executions ...................... 254 4. Freedom of Expression............. :...................................... 260 5. Freedom of Religion ........................................................ 269 6. Freedom of Assembly and Political Activity................ 300 7. China's Population Control Policies in Tibet ................. 305 VI - Self-Determination ......................................................................... 319 Appendices ............................................ ................................................ 347 Annex 1 - Excerpts from ICJ Interview with the Dalai Lama ...... 349 Annex 2 - Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet .......... 355 Annex 3 - United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1353 (XIV), 1959 ...!........................................ 359 Annex 4 - United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1723 (XVI), 1961 .............................................. 360 Annex 5 - United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2079 (XX), 1965 ................................................ 361 Annex 6 - Chronology ........................................................................ 363 The Comment of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile .......................... 367 6 I nternational C o m m i s s i o n o f Ju r i s t s - D e c e m b e r 1997 Preface The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has been concerned by developments in Tibet for almost four decades. In 1959 the ICJ published "The Question of Tibet and the Rule of Law,” which examined Chinese policy in Tibet, violations of human rights in Tibet and the position of Tibet in international law. The report found that "almost all the rights which together allow the full and legitimate expression of human personality appear to be denied to the Tibetans at the present time and, in most cases, for some time past. On the basis of the available evidence it would seem difficult to recall a case in which ruthless suppression of man's essential dignity has been more systematically and efficiently carried out." In view of the apparent gravity of the violations of human rights alleged, including evidence relating to the question of genocide, the ICJ decided to create a special committee of inquiry. The following year, the ICJ published "Tibet and the Chinese People's Republic: A Report to the International Commission of Jurists by its Legal Inquiry Committee on Tibet," whose findings, in the words of the ICJ Secretary-General, "constitute a detailed condemnation of Chinese rule in Tibet." The report examined the evidence relating to genocide, finding that "acts of genocide had been committed in Tibet in an attempt to destroy the Tibetans as a religious group." It also found widespread violations of numerous civil and political as well as economic and social rights. Finally, looking at the status of Tibet, it concluded that Tibet was "at the very least a de facto independent State" prior to its "17-Point Agreement" with China, and that China's violations of its undertakings pursuant to that pact entitled Tibet to repudiate it. These findings were presented to the United Nations General Assembly, which called on China in 1959 to ensure "respect for the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people and for their distinctive cultural and religious life" and in 1961 to cease "practices which deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental human rights and freedoms including their right to self-determination." In December 1964 based on statements from Tibetan refugees arriving in India, the ICJ reported that "the domination and persecution of the Tibetan people at the hands of the Chinese People's Republic 7 T i b e t - H u m a n R ig h t s a n d t h e R u l e o f La w and its army of occupation in Tibet is continuing unabated." In particular, the evidence disclosed "a continuance of ill-treatment of many monks, lamas, and other religious figures, resulting in death through excessive torture, beatings, starvation and forced labour." The ICJ concluded that the General Assembly resolutions "have had no effect on Chinese policies or action in Tibet." In 1965 the General Assembly repeated its appeal. The next years saw the situation in Tibet grow more desperate. The creation of the Tibet Autonomous Region in central Tibet in September 1965 established a permanent system of Chinese control and accelerated the policy of collectivization. Every aspect of Tibetan culture came under attack during the Cultural Revolution which began in 1966. By 1976, Tibet's cultural and religious heritage, including almost all its monasteries, lay in ruins. Tens if not hundreds