HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN TIBET Annual Report 2014 Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..............................................................................................5 COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT .....................................................................................7 I. Legal Standards .................................................................................................8 II. Chinese Law ......................................................................................................9 III. Self-Immolation ................................................................................................9 IV. Religious Festivals ...........................................................................................11 V. Informal Collective Punishment .....................................................................12 VI. Conclusion ......................................................................................................13 DEATH IN DETENTION ...........................................................................................14 I. Legal Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners...............................................15 II. Death in Detention .........................................................................................17 III. Reducing Deaths in Detention .......................................................................19 FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY .........................................................................................21 I. Legal Standard ................................................................................................21 A. PRc’s Legal Obligations ................................................................................. 22 B. The Right to freedom of peaceful assembly ..................................................... 22 C. Lawful restrictions on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly ..................... 23 II. Tibet in 2014 ..................................................................................................25 A. Kardze TAP : Lethal force used to suppress protests ............................................ 25 B. Anti-mining protests ....................................................................................... 26 C. Crackdown in Diru County ............................................................................ 28 III. Violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Tibet ....................30 A. Treaty Language .............................................................................................. 30 B. Legality ........................................................................................................... 31 C. Proportionality ................................................................................................ 33 D. Necessary in a Democratic Society ................................................................... 34 IV. Conclusion & Recommendations ...................................................................34 CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS .............................................................................36 I. Expansion of Security State .............................................................................36 A. Policies ............................................................................................................ 37 B. Implementation ............................................................................................... 40 C. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 42 II. Technology and the Right to Privacy ..............................................................43 A. International Law ............................................................................................ 43 B. Digital Surveillance in Tibet ............................................................................ 44 C. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 46 HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN TIBET : ANNUAL REPORT 2014 III. Religious Repression .......................................................................................46 A. Undermining Tibetan Buddhism ..................................................................... 46 B. Controlling Tibetan Buddhism ........................................................................ 49 C. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 50 ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS ...................................................51 I. PRC Census Data and Health and Education in Tibet ...................................51 A. The 2010 China Census and Tibet .................................................................. 51 B. General Population Data ................................................................................. 53 C. Health in Tibet ................................................................................................ 56 D. Education in Tibet .......................................................................................... 61 E. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 68 F. Work Cited ..................................................................................................... 70 II. Education in Tibet ..........................................................................................71 A. Curriculum ..................................................................................................... 71 B. Language ......................................................................................................... 72 C. Geography ....................................................................................................... 73 D. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 74 III. Nomad Resettlement .......................................................................................74 A. International Law ............................................................................................ 75 B. Unavoidable and Consistent with Human Rights ............................................ 75 C. Informed of and given an opportunity to challenge the eviction ...................... 77 D. Adequate Housing or Land.............................................................................. 78 E. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 79 INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY .............................................................................80 I. States ...............................................................................................................80 A. Tibet, the US and the Scottish Referendum ...................................................... 80 B. Missed Meetings–Norway, South Africa and the Nobel Boycott ...................... 82 C. Crime and Punishment: Spain and Nepal ........................................................ 83 II. Intergovernmental Organizations and NGO activism .......................................84 A. Tibet at the UN ................................................................................................ 84 B. European Union .............................................................................................. 85 III. Businesses and Tibet .......................................................................................85 A. Internet and Technology .................................................................................. 86 B. Tourism and Travel .......................................................................................... 86 SELF-IMMOLATIONS ................................................................................................89 COMPLETE LIST OF SELF-IMMOLATION PROTESTS SINCE 2009 IN TIBET ...89 Political Prisoner Database .........................................................................................109 4 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2014, the human rights situation in Tibet human rights. Peaceful protesters were frequently continued to deteriorate. Human rights violations targeted by the PRC ’s security forces in 2014. The continued and the laws enabling the abuses security forces fired at the protesters, detained targeted more people more severely. The benefits those they could, and subjected an entire village and reforms that the government of the People’s to severe interrogations. International law protects Republic of China (PRC) frequently cites to the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Peaceful justify it control over Tibet failed to materialize assemblies can only be restricted if the government and failed to reach Tibetan communities. can demonstrate that specific criteria are met. In Tibet, the PRC cracked down against almost every The PRC cracked down against Tibetans in protest. The required criteria were never met. response to mining protests, protests against forced displays of loyalty, religious practices, and The use of coercive power against Tibetans will only the continuation of the self-immolations protests. increase. In 2014, the PRC expanded its security In response to self-immolations and people presence in Tibet. This included the introduction attending religious festivals, local governments of more