The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its earlier resolutions on the occupation of Tibet and the repression of its people by the Chinese authorities,

A.  whereas respect for human rights is a prominent priority of EU policies and one of the founding principles of the Union,

B.  whereas the Peking government is refusing to allow Mrs Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to have access to Tibet,

C.  pointing out that informal talks under way between the Chinese Government and the Tibetan religious authorities have not led to an improvement in the human rights situation in Tibet, particularly freedom of expression,

D.  having regard to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's appeal to the international community to act for a peaceful solution of the Tibetan problem,

E.  having regard to the conclusions on China issued by the Council during the General Affairs Council meeting of 20 March 2000,

F.  having regard to the 56th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights,

G.  deeply concerned by the fact that the EU-China Human Rights dialogue has not produced enough progress on the ground and reiterating the importance it attaches to the opportunity presented by the EU-China Human Rights dialogue and Cooperation programme, which foresees joint work on the promotion and respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in China,

H.  deeply concerned by the fact that the Tibetan cultural and spiritual heritage is threatened with extinction, inter alia by a large-scale transfer of ethnic Chinese to Tibet and the continuing and widespread restrictions on fundamental freedoms, notably freedom of assembly, expression, association and religion,

1.  Condemns the ongoing discrimination of the Tibetan people by the People's Republic of China on religious, political, educational, language and cultural grounds;

2.  Calls on the Chinese government to open the dialogue, without pre-conditions, on the future of Tibet, with the Dalai Lama and on the basis of his five-point peace plan: (1) Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace; (2) Abandonment of China's population-transfer policy; (3) Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms; (4) Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment; (5) Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future autonomous status of Tibet;

3.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to express publicly their concerns about the situation in Tibet and in China and to raise them in meetings with China at all levels and expects the Council to abandon its "no action" approach to China, which is preventing the human rights situation in China from being discussed;

4.  Urges the Council to take the initiative, at the current session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, on the adoption of a resolution expressing concern at the serious human rights violations perpetrated in China, including the continual oppression of Tibet;

5.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the government of China, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Parliament in exile of Tibet.