apartheid – TCHRD

His Holiness the Dalai Lama's meeting with Mandela in 1996 in South Africa. (Photo: ANC Archives) — His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s meeting with Mandela in 1996 in South Africa. (Photo: ANC Archives)

Nelson Mandela passed away on 5 December 2013. His state funeral on Sunday, 15 December is a time for the world to gather and remember Mandela’s life and legacy. Mandela will be forever remembered as the first black president of South Africa and a champion of non-violence who was instrumental not only in ending apartheid but also for uniting South Africa behind the rule of law, constitutionalism, and racial reconciliation after decades of minority rule by a racist regime. This legacy and the success of the “freedom struggle” against apartheid is an inspiration for Tibetans who live under a discriminatory regime that exists above the law and imposes its will through the heavy-handed use of force.

Recent reports that Apple’s suppliers have discriminated against Tibetans and other ethnic minorities in the People’s Republic of China demonstrate that the systematic and brutal discrimination by the Chinese government also exists in the private sector. Chinese policies in Tibet subject Tibetans to religious persecution, forced displacement, arbitrary detention, torture, and murder. Apple attempted to invest in China while still protecting and promoting human rights.

Apple is not the first corporation to invest in a discriminatory country while still trying to protect and promote human rights. In 1977, Reverend Leon Sullivan, a General Motors board member, created the Sullivan Principles. The Sullivan Principles originally consisted of six voluntary principles for multinational corporations in South Africa to follow. The principles called on corporations to adopt equal employment practices, desegregate the workplace, promote trade unions, and provide training and social services for black workers. In 1984, Sullivan also called upon corporations to use their influence to encourage South African corporations to adopt similar principles, to

Tag: apartheid

Mandela legacy continues to inspire Tibetans

Apple: Respect human rights or withdraw from China