China has to Address the Grievances of Tibetans: UN High Commissioner

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay

DHARAMSHALA: Expressing her deep concern over the grim situation in Tibet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said “China has to examine and address the grievances of the Tibetans”.

Responding to questions on BBC’s World Have Your Say programme on Friday about the UN’s inability to engage China to address the sufferings of Tibetans, High Commissioner Navi Pillay underlined that the situation in Tibet requires a political solution, and that the suffering of the Tibetan people has to be examined by China and addressed.

Ms Pillay assured that the Human Rights Council will apply same yardstick to China while reviewing and scrutinising its human rights record this October.

The UN High Commissioner said China has invited her to visit China and that she would definitely go to Tibet to assess the situation there. Since 2009, over 119 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against the Chinese government’s continued occupation and repression of Tibet.

Ms Pillay reiterated her real concern over the grim situation in Tibet. “I have issued public statements, asking China not to treat this as a security matter but to look into the root causes of the suffering of the Tibetans and why they are seem to be driven to such extreme measures of protests such as self-immolation,” she said.

The UN High Commissioner said the world cares about the sufferings of Tibetans and urged them not to resort to drastic forms of protests. 

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