MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the human rights situation in Tibet
11.6.2012 - (2012/2685(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Eva Lichtenberger, Helga Trüpel, Nicole Kiil-Nielsen, Raül Romeva i Rueda on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0312/2012
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on China and Tibet, in particular its resolutions of 26 October 2011 and 24 November 2010,
– having regard to its previous resolution on the banning of elections for the Tibetan Government-in-exile in Nepal on 7 April 2011,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,
– having regard to Article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, which guarantees all citizens the right to freedom of religious belief,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas respect for human rights and freedom of identity, culture, religion and association are founding principles of the EU and of its foreign policy;
B. whereas the EU raised the question of Tibetan minority rights during the 31st round of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue held in Brussels on 29 May 2012; whereas the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue has not resulted in any significant improvements in the human rights situation of the Tibetans;
C. whereas the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama have approached the government of the People’s Republic of China to find a peaceful and mutually-beneficial solution to the issue of Tibet; whereas the talks between the two sides have delivered no concrete results and are currently frozen;
D. whereas the authorities of the People’s Republic of China used disproportionate force while countering the protests of 2008 in Tibet and have ever since imposed restrictive security measures that curtail the freedom of expression, association and belief;
E. whereas the number of victims of the 2008 protests may have exceeded 200 and the number of detained varies from 4 434 to more than 6 500 and at the end of 2010 there were 831 known political prisoners in Tibet of whom 360 were judicially convicted and 12 serving life sentences;
F. whereas torture, e.g. beating, use of electroshock weapons, long-term solitary confinement, starvation and other similar measures are reported to be used for extortion of confessions in the prisons in Tibet by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China;
G. whereas 38 Tibetans, mostly monks and nuns, have been reported to have set themselves on fire since 2009, protesting against restrictive Chinese policies in Tibet and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama and the right to religious freedom in the Aba/Ngaba county prefecture in Sichuan province and in other parts of the Tibetan plateau, including Tibet’s historic capital Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region;
H. whereas the current state of well-being and whereabouts of a number of victims to self-immolations have remained unknown or unclear, namely of Chimey Palden, Tenpa Darjey, Jamyang Palden, Lobsang Gyatso, Sona Rabyang, Dawa Tsering, Kelsang Wangchuck, Lobsang Kelsang, Lobsang Kunchok and Tapey;
I. whereas the activities of international journalists, media and independent monitors in Tibet is deeply restricted;
J. whereas Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama was detained by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China and has not been seen since May 14, 1995;
K. whereas Tibetan identity, language, culture and religion, the testimony to a historically rich civilisation, are endangered by the resettlement of Han people in the historical territory of Tibet and extermination of traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Tibetans;
L. whereas the EU is in the process of stipulating the mandate and appointing the EU Special Representative for Human Rights;
M. whereas the previous calls of the European Parliament to the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to address the situation in Tibet with her Chinese counterparts have not delivered the expected results;
1. Reiterates that the Strategic Partnership between the EU and the People’s Republic of China should be based on common shared principles and values;
2. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to increase and intensify efforts to address the human rights situation of the Tibetans in the framework of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue;
3. Regrets, in this respect, the unwillingness of the Chinese authorities to hold the dialogue twice a year and their stance concerning the modalities and the frequency of the meetings with regard, in particular, to the strengthening of the civil society segment and the involvement of civil society in the dialogue; urges the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union to make all efforts so as to make the human rights dialogue more effective and result-oriented;
4. Calls on the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to grant genuine and meaningful autonomy to the historical territory of Tibet;
5. Expresses disappointment that the Government of the People’s Republic of China has been unwilling to continue the dialogue with the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama since January 2010 and encourages the Chinese authorities to engage in an open, frank and meaningful discussion with the representatives of the Central Tibetan Administration on the future of Tibet;
6. Insists that the authorities of the People’s Republic of China respect the freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of belief of the Tibetans;
7. Urges the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to allow independent international investigation to be conducted on the 2008 protests and its aftermath and calls for the release of the political prisoners;
8. Condemns any form of torture of persons in custody and invites and asks the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to allow the independent international inspection of the prisons and detention centres in Tibet as well as in the rest of China;
9. Reiterates its condemnation of the Chinese authorities’ continued crackdown on Tibetan monasteries and calls the Chinese Government to guarantee freedom of religion to the people of Tibet as well as all its citizens;
10. Insists that the Chinese authorities reveal the fate and whereabouts of all the victims of self-immolations in Tibet;
11. Reiterates its call on the Chinese authorities to reveal the fate and whereabouts of Chedun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama;
12. Calls on the Chinese authorities to uphold the linguistic, cultural, religious and other fundamental freedoms of Tibetans and to refrain from resettling Han people in historical territories of Tibet as well as from forcing Tibetan nomads to abandon their traditional lifestyle;
13. Expects the EU Special Representative for Human Rights to report regularly on the human rights situation in the People’s Republic of China, in particular with regard to Tibet;
14. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to address the human rights situation in Tibet at every meeting with the representatives of the People’s Republic of China;
15. Encourages the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to appoint an EU Special Representative for Tibet in order to advance the respect for human rights of the Tibetan people, including their right to preserve and develop their distinctive identity and its religious, cultural and linguistic manifestations; support constructive dialogue and negotiations between the government of the People’s Republic of China and the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; and to provide assistance to Tibetan refugees, in particular in Nepal and India;
16. Calls on the Chinese authorities to lift all restrictions and allow unfettered access and freedom of movement all over Tibet to independent media, journalists and human rights monitors;
17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the People’s Republic of China, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.