TWA observes the 65th annual United Nations’ Human Rights Day

2013 marks the 65th annual United Nations’ Human Rights Day and 64th year of Chinese occupation of Tibet, since 1949. Even after more than six decades of China’s violation of human rights in Tibet, this year, China has made it to the 47-seat United Nations Human Rights Council. Either the governments have elected China in the council with hope to see positive changes or to maintain their trade relationship with China as it is the world’s rising power. Which ever the case, we sincerely hope China is serious about improving human rights conditions in Tibet and the United Nations and UN Human Rights Council will maintain its commitments on human rights.

In marking this year’s annual United Nations’ Human Rights Day, Central Tibetan Women’s Association earnestly requests Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Amnesty International, International Court of Justice, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Committee Against Torture and UN Women to support for the release of Tulku Tenzin Delek in order to get medical treatment as his physical condition is very critical and we also request to focus on health condition of all political prisoners who are suffering with serious illness in China’s prison and detention centers.

In the morning, at the formal function of the Central Tibetan Administration, TWA launched the new researched book ‘The Status of Tibetan Women in Tibet’ and at the main gate of the Tsuklagkhang (Dalai Lama’s temple), three non-governmental organizations (Students for a Free Tibet, Gu-Chu-Sum and Central Tibetan Women’s organization) organized a mass campaign to support the release and well return of Dhondup Wangchen by signing on a thousand of paper cranes made by the three NGOs. The signed paper cranes will be posting to the embassy of the People’s Republic of China in New Delhi.

In the evening, at 2pm, TWA organized a talk on human rights ’64 years of violation of human rights in Tibet under Chinese occupation, since 1949′ for the foreigners. The guest speakers for the talk were Tenzin Nyingji, a researcher at the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) and John Gaudette, a legal intern at TCHRD. Nyingji focused on ‘Human Rights situation in Tibet’ and John focused on ‘Crime against Humanity in Tibet’.

Central Tibetan Women’s Association

                                                Dharamsala