International human rights law was set in motion by the Charter of the United Nations. The purpose supporting the Charter is to achieve “international co-operation in…promoting and encouraging respect for human rights for the fundamental freedoms without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”[1]Tibet has endured some of the worst political oppression and human rights violations in the twentieth century. Prior to the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the Tibetan government made an effort not to partake in global affairs. The peaceful Buddhist nation became known for its isolation and its apparent Shangri-La status. The people of Tibet enjoyed their lives away from the formalities of global society and politics practicing their religion and staying ever-faithful to their religious leader, the Dalai Lama. When the United Nations was first instated in 1945, Tibet, although eligible, made the fatal error of declining the invitation, a decision that has had devastating repercussions for the nation. The 1959 Chinese invasion of Tibet brought the Sino-Tibetan relationship to the forefront of international relations. The injustices committed by the Chinese government made it impossible for Tibetans to remain isolated and since that year Tibetans have been reaching out to international organizations for social and political aide in hopes of regaining their country, culture and ultimately, their freedom.
The Western superpowers support finding a resolution to the Tibet case more specifically the human rights situation in Tibet and throughout China. While smaller, lesser developed countries support China at the UN.[2] Third world countries are obligated to support China for trade and development purposes. The economy and the standard of living in many third world countries would plummet without Chinese goods which, many times, cross boarders illegally.
As a member of the United Nations Security Council in conjunction with its rising global economic status the Chinese government has an enormous amount of power at its disposal. This political clout has global repercussions and as Chinese status contiues to rise their future potential as a global force does so as well. The Security Council has the power under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter to adopt binding resolutions and to order enforcement measures including cases regarding massive human rights violations that could readily be characterized as a threat to the peace within the meaning of Article 39 of the Charter.[3] In short, it is this Council that decides certain resolutions for the peace and security of member states. In turn, however, China has veto power within the Council and therefore can override any attempt to make human rights resolutions binding. With increasing frequency, the Security Council has exercised its powers under Chapter VII in situations involving massive violations of human rights, including Tibet.[4] However, this is all done in vain as China can exercise its veto power and deny the ratification of a binding human rights document. This unfortunately cements the United Nation’s position on the Tibet issue. Furthermore, should a country or the United Nations try to touch upon the Tibetan situation; China could lawfully make against said member state the accusation of interfering with internal affairs.[5] This would be supported by the nonintervention clause found in Article 2(7) of the Charter. [6] This is the conundrum the Tibetan community is faced with when it calls on international help.
Tibetan human rights violations span from religious to political to physical oppression. Monks, nuns and lay people have been imprisoned for praying to the Dalai Lama in public. Many times they are beaten, imprisoned and tortured. Many have perished behind bars. Nuns have endured some of the most horrific forms of torture including rape and electric rods forced into their genitals which results in sterilization. Interviews conducted by The Tibetan Centre of Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) reveal extreme sexual violence against nuns, including penetration of the vagina and rectum with electric cattle prods. One nun was ordered to strip and was shocked all over with an electric cattle prod, which was also inserted into her rectum and vagina. Another nun was prodded so often in the rectum and vagina that she vomited and urinated blood.[7]
Women in rural areas of Tibet have all but lost their reproductive rights. Chinese soldiers come from Lhasa to collect pregnant women, fine them, and if unable to pay bring them to a clinic far outside their village for an abortion. The mother’s health is rarely a variable in this equation and many times abortions are performed on women pregnant well into their second and third trimesters. Mothers of two or more are also brought to clinics for sterilization. The Chinese government has created a scenario where they are capable of committing a silent genocide while holding a prime political seat.
Despite political and religious oppression within Tibet, non-governmental organizations have sprout up on the other side of the Himalayas. One to note is The Tibetan Women’s Association in Dharamsala, India. Dharamsala is the center of Tibetan-in-exile politics, the hub of all things relating to freedom, activism, and the future of the Tibetan culture. In this tiny Himalayan city, the TWA addresses the drastic human rights abuses committed against Tibetan women in Tibet including rape, physical violence, and the denial of fundamental reproductive, religious and political freedoms.[8] As a voice for those who cannot exercise their own, the TWA is a beacon of hope for thousands of Tibetan women. With an enormous amount of faith in the United Nations, the TWA aims to help socially, politically and economically empower women in exile, ensure proper education, and continue to preserve the Tibetan culture. However, the main goal, and perhaps most difficult, is to raise global awareness of the critical situation inside Tibet, and to exert international pressure for the improvement of Human Rights conditions for Tibetans living in occupied Tibet.[9]
[1] Thomas Buergenthal, “The Evolving International Human Rights System,” (The American Journal for International Law 100, no. 4 Oct. 2006 : 783-807,), 783. www.jstor.org. (accessed 23 November 2007).
[2] Tenzin Norgay, 19 November 2007, Formal Interview.
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