On the 28th anniversary of the Chinese government’s arbitrary detention and subsequent enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama Jetsun Tenzin Gedhun Yeshi Trinley Phuntsok Pal Sangpo, widely recognised by his lay name Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) reiterates its call to the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release the Panchen Lama, his family members, and all the Tibetan political prisoners. TCHRD emphasises that without ensuring the Tibetan people’s fundamental human rights, including freedom of belief and religion, Chinese authorities can never hope to win the hearts and minds of Tibetans, let alone earn any legitimacy for its repressive policies and campaigns in Tibet.

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On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) calls on the international community to take affirmative actions to protect, promote and fulfill human rights for all. As we observe the anniversary of the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the UN, thousands of Tibetan political prisoners are languishing…

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The Tibetan translation of a major report, ‘The United Nations Continuing ‘Search’ for Tibet’s Panchen Lama’, on the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama was released on the eve of the Human Rights Day at a press conference organised at Norbu House, Dharamsala, India. Authored by Ngawang Choephel Drakmargyapon and first published in English, the report contains the author’s…

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Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was disappeared at the age of six by Chinese government agents

Gyaincain Norbu (Gyaltsen Norbu), the 11th Panchen Lama appointed by Chinese authorities to nullify the Dalai Lama’s selection has been appointed president of the regional branch of Buddhist Association of China (BAC) in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

On 22 June this year, Wu Yingjie, the Chinese Communist Party Secretary of TAR met with the newly elected members of the BAC’s TAR branch, a party controlled supervisory organ on Buddhism in People’s Republic of China.

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By Ngawang Choephel Drakmargyapon*

“If I die, I think two to three years, I think the Chinese may choose even one Dalai Lama. But Tibetans (will) not accept that. The Panchen Lama which they choose, some Chinese officials also they describe as ‘Fake Panchen Lama’.”

                                              ~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama, TIME Magazine, 7 March 2019

This report is an account of the largely unknown attempts made to ascertain the whereabouts, the well-being and the fate of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the Eleventh Panchen Lama of Tibet at the United Nations.[1] It attempts to provide a comprehensive narrative on the efforts by the international community over the past more than two decades to determine the fate of the Panchen Lama by particularly highlighting how the mechanisms of the UN human rights system have played a crucial role to help the Tibetans, followers of Tibetan Buddhism, supporters of Tibet and others by initiating interventions on the case directly with the Chinese authorities.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was recognised on 14 May 1995 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama during a ceremony in Dharamsala, India. His Holiness declared: “Today is the auspicious day when the Buddha first gave the Kalachakra teaching. The Kalachakra teachings have a special connection with the Panchen Lamas. On this occasion, which also happens to be the Vaisaki, it is with great joy that I am able to proclaim the reincarnation of Panchen Rinpoche. I have recognized Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, born on April 25, 1989, whose father is Kunchok Phuntsog, and mother Dechen Chodon, of Lhari district in Nagchu, Tibet, as the true reincarnation of Panchen Lama.”

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On the 23rdanniversary of the enforced disappearance of Tibetan spiritual leader Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) joins a chorus of voices from the international community demanding China to allow independent bodies to verify, without surveillance and government minders, the fate of the 11thPanchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was six years old when he…

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A Tibetan monk who is also a songwriter was released from prison last month after completing a five-year prison term and returned to his hometown in Tridu (Ch: Chenduo) County in Kyegudo (Ch: Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in the Tibetan province of Kham. Lobsang Jinpa, 35, was sentenced on 23 February 2013 along with the famous Tibetan singer Lolo who received…

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Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the arbitrary detention of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedun Choekyi Nyima by the Chinese government. One of Tibet’s most important spiritual leaders, the Panchen Lama has not been seen or heard from since then. On 17 May 1995, the six-year-old Gedun Choekyi Nyima and his parents were arbitrarily detained by Chinese government officials. For many…

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