Annual Reports

The events of 11 September 2001 caused a paradigm shift in international concern over human rights. While most states have measures in place to ensure the security of their citizens, others are taking advantage of the 11 September attacks to justify internal repression. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a distinct case in point. TCHRD is concerned that China…

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The latest Annual Report by Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has been released today. Enforcing Loyalty is a comprehensive documentation of the deteriorating human rights situation throughout Tibet in the year 2000. In a year where Beijing made overt attempts to enhance its international image, with the release of their high profile propaganda piece – the White Paper – and their signing of the Memorandum of Understanding – an agreement with the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights relating to human rights standards – China still remains one of the few nations of the world that institutionalises human rights abuses.

The past year saw an increase in almost every area of repression and violations of fundamental freedoms by the Chinese authorities. Beijing’s obsession with stability and control saw the reinforcement of older policies and the imposition of new, restrictive measures. Political and religious freedoms faced heightened methods of control; Tibetans endured continued arbitrary arrests and detentions, along with unabated torture; women suffered an increase of physical violations; and children still face bleak and limited futures due to the highly discriminatory education and employment policies currently in practice.

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1999 marked the official celebration of fifty years of the founding of the People’s Republic of China as well as forty years of the “liberation” of Tibet. The symbolic importance of both these events was characterised by various attempts by the Chinese government to display its authority and legitimacy. Within China and in Tibet there was a tightening of the…

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In 1998, the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was celebrated internationally. Despite recognition of this declaration, the People’s Republic of China continues to breach the provisions therein, leaving the Tibetans very little to celebrate. 49 years after the PRC occupied Tibet, the freedom to exercise fundamental human rights has not been restored. The People’s Republic of…

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In 1996, reports of grave human rights violations against Tibetans in occupied Tibet continued on a monumental scale. The brutal repression of freedom of religion is outstanding in Tibet where the peaceful beliefs and customs of Buddhism play such a profound role in cultural life. Under the aegis of the national “Strike Hard campaign”, the authorities of the People’s Republic…

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