UNPO Welcomes UN Special Rapporteur Visit to China

Dear Dr. Nowak,

In reference to your recent visit to China in your capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and on behalf of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), I wish to hereby convey to you the following message.

UNPO, as an international membership organization comprising more than 60 member groups worldwide, had as three of its founding members in 1991, Tibet, Eastern Turkestan and Taiwan. Since its inception, UNPO has continued to follow closely the situation for these Members, and has on a number of occasions expressed its deep concern about the situation in the Tibet Autonomous Regions and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, as well as concern about present China – Taiwan relations. The current political climate continues to warrant critical international attention.

It was therefore with great appreciation that UNPO learnt of your recent visit to this region and of your efforts to document and draw international attention to the current human rights situation for Tibetans and Uyghurs. Your findings and conclusions will help highlight some of the violations that continue unabated, and too-often undisturbed, in these regions, and UNPO welcomes your efforts to address, and bring to the attention of the international community flagrant human rights violations, such as the widespread use of torture.

In particular, in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the next two years will be crucial to focus attention on issues of human rights and democracy in China. Hopefully this may also provide an opportunity to improve the framework for negotiations for the return of His Holiness The Dalai Lama to Tibet, as well as representing an evolution in terms of improving cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan.

It is hoped that your recommendations will help contribute to the eradication of torture, and to further the promotion and protection of human rights in Tibet, Eastern Turkestan and the wider region.

Sincerely,

Marino Busdachin

General Secretary