Oral Statement by Ms. Norzin Dolma on behalf of International Fellowship of Reconciliation

Item : 10 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Honorable Chairperson,

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) on 27 March 2001. Article 13 of the ICESCR recognizes the right of everyone to education that shall be directed to the full development of the human personality."

Regrettably, education in the "Tibet Autonomous Region" ("TAR") is not directed to the free and full development of the Tibetan children's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities. Instead, it is used as a tool by the Chinese authorities to ensure political stability and ethnic unity within the region. In order to achieve these goals, education policies continue to undermine the Tibetan identity through a biased representation of Tibetan history, a denial of their culture and traditions, and the relegation of Tibetan as a second-rate language.

Linguistic identity jeopardized

As the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Ms. Katarina Tomasevski, has observed that "An education that would affirm minority rights necessitates full recognition by the majority of the worth of minority languages and religions in all facets of life. Otherwise, education is seen as assimilationist and, hence, not compatible with China's human rights obligations".

Professor Dungkar Lobsang Trinley, one of the leading cultural and intellectual figures of modern Tibet and recognized by the Chinese authorities as a "national treasure", has said:

"All hope in our future, all other developments, cultural identity, and protection of our heritage depends on this [Tibetan language]. Without educated people in all fields, able to express themselves in their own language, Tibetans are in danger of being assimilated. We have reached this point." 11

In practice, as far as linguistic identity is concerned, China has not yet integrated the rights of the Tibetan minority in its education policies. Instead the Chinese government continues to turn a blind eye to a process that jeopardizes the very existence of Tibetan language, as Chinese as the sole language of education in school is progressively replacing this across the "TAR".

With the pre-dominance of the use of Chinese language in administration and commerce, the Tibetan language has been sidelined. Tibetan students are taught Chinese language and China's version of Tibet's history in schools. Teng Xing, an anthropologist at Beijing's Institute of Ethnic Education Studies concedes, " In 10 to 20 years, minority languages in China will become languages only found in museums. This is the reality." This is substantiated by the fact that many Tibetans leave Tibet to exile in India to receive alternative and broad based education.

Accessibility and Availability of Education

On 30 August 2004, the Executive Director of the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF), Ms. Carol Bellamy, expressed her concern that only 31% of children in Tibet have access to the compulsory nine years of education. Article 10 of the 1986 China's Compulsory Education Law proclaims that the state shall not charge tuition for students receiving compulsory education. However, the realization of a compulsory education that is free to all in Tibet has not yet been achieved.

Among the factors that explains the low level of access to compulsory education among the children in the "TAR" is that there are undoubtedly the financial obstacles and lack of schools in some remote areas.

School for Ideological Indoctrination

Apart from schools and educational institutions, the religious institutions such as monasteries and nunneries suffered the most adverse effects from China's policy on education because it is used as a fertile ground of political indoctrination.

Since 1996, the "patriotic re-education" campaign was introduced in religious institutions to enforce political education in place of religious studies. Those who refused to obey official orders were expelled from the monasteries. In last ten years of "patriotic education" there were about 11,383 known expulsions of clergies from the religious institutions. The phenomenon is also described as the 'second cultural revolution' by the outside observers.

According to China's own statement, the party claimed that some 30,000 of Tibet's 46,000 Buddhist monks and nuns have received 're-education' and 1,780 of Tibet's 1,787 monasteries and temples have been covered and infiltrated by "work teams".

Educational freedom: no choice but exile

Against the principle set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, at article 13, proclaims that "everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own", the Chinese authorities impose upon Tibetans severe restrictions to their freedom of movement, making it nearly impossible for them to travel outside China to receive education in Tibetan schools in exile. Nevertheless, Tibetan children continue to risk their lives fleeing Tibet in search for an education that preserves their language, culture, history and traditions.

Since the early '80s well over 7,000 children have risked everything to journey across the Himalayas in the hope that they will receive in exile the kind of education that they have been denied back home. Between January and August 2004, 2,416 new refugees have reached the Tibetan Reception Centre in Dharamsala. Of these refugees, children under the age of 13 constitute 20.98 %, while youth between the age of 14 and 25 constitute 40.23 %. Therefore, young Tibetan refugees account for 61.21 % of the total number of new escapees into India in eight months. In the month of September 2004, 238 new Tibetan refugees arrived in Dharamsala. 81.93 % of whom were below the age of 25. The total number of Tibetan refugees who arrived at the Tibetan reception center from 1991 until June 2004 was 43,634, 59.74% of which were below the age of 25.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we urge the Commission to call upon the Peoples Republic of China to respect Tibetan culture, history and traditions and refrain from policies that have the purpose or effect of assimilating the Tibetans into the dominant culture. The PRC should also make Tibetan language the medium of instruction ins schools, introduce curriculum based on the needs of Tibetans people, and make education accessible, affordable and free.

61st Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights

14 March to 22 April 2005

Oral Statement delivered on 31 April 2005 by Tenzin Samphel KAYTA on behalf of Society for Threatened Peoples International

Item 10: Economic, social and Cultural Rights

Mr. Chairman,

The People's Republic of China has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. However, it has yet to adequately live up to its commitments under the agreement.

In 1999, China launched the Western Development Strategy comprising key projects including construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway; transmission of electricity and natural gas from western areas to the east; protection of natural forests, grassland and rivers; promotion of elementary, occupational and higher education; fostering specialized farming etc. The Western Development Strategy has been described by the Chinese as a model of development that will help to overcome Tibet's "backwardness". However, its objectives appear difficult to achieve given the fact that the investment in local agriculture and livestock, as well as in soft infrastructures such as health, education, employment and local participation, has been given little priority. The greatest beneficiaries appear to be the Chinese migrants residing in the region and not the local Tibetans. The disparity between the rich and poor grows ever wider, and, significantly, moves along ethnic lines. Moreover, the nature of decision-making at both national and regional levels ensures that China formulates all developmental policies and strategies without consulting the Tibetan population.

Over the past decade and, in particular, after 1992, the State's policies on administrative, economic and infrastructure measures have facilitated and also encouraged the migration of Han Chinese into Tibet, so posing a serious threat to the survival of Tibet's distinct culture and identity. Due to the consistent influx of Chinese people into Tibet, Tibetans are effectively becoming a minority in their own homeland, suffering discrimination and deprivation with regards to access to land, food and employment.

China has claimed that healthcare services are " free in farming and pastoral areas". However, prohibitive fees continue to compromise the Tibetans' health. Healthcare facilities are concentrated in urban areas and have not been fully extended to the more isolated rural areas where the majority of Tibetans reside.

Concerning the accessibility of education, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Ms. Katarina Tomasevski stated that "compulsory education has not been made free in China". This contrasts with article 10 of 1986 China's Compulsory Education Law which proclaims that the State shall not charge tuition for students receiving compulsory education.

Mr Chairman, all these issues point to the fact that the Chinese government still has a long way to go in addressing its obligations with regards to economic, social and cultural rights. We urge the Commission to ensure that any remedial action to be taken by the Chinese must include Tibet.

Thank you.

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Sixty-first session

Item 10

ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

31 March, 2005

Oral statement by Ms. Tsering JAMPA, Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network

Mr. Chairperson,

Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network would like to draw attention of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights about the effects of the transmigration of people belonging to the majority communities on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by those who require special protections.

The World Bank lucidly explains the effects of such population transfers while describing the effects of the transmigration of the majority Kinh in the Northern and Central Highlands of Vietnam. It states, "In the context of the policy of resettlement and settlement of the populations of indigenous ethnic minorities started by the government (of Vietnam) in 1975, the greater and constant pressure exerted on the land by the migrants makes the production systems of the ethnic groups increasingly impracticable. The poorly educated indigenous populations, who in the main do not speak Kinh, are poorly placed to defend themselves and risk not benefiting fully from the national policy to develop the Highlands. In addition, the traditional way of life of the indigenous populations is gradually being supplanted by the dominant civilisation of the Kinh, giving rise to dangers of assimilation and marginalisation." [1]

It is now estimated that the Chinese presently outnumber the Tibetans. In 2002, a senior Chinese official, Jin Shixun, vice president of the Commission for Planning and Development admitted that "There are currently 200,000 inhabitants in Lhasa, and half are Tibetans".[2] Since 1950 there has been a large influx of majority Chinese resulting from several factors. China's population transfer policy now hopes to create a further influx of Chinese settlers with the construction of railway lines to the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Gormu-Lhasa railway line to be completed by the year 2007 is one example. Tibetans worry that the railway lines will only serve to accelerate the movement of Chinese settlers with devastating consequences for Tibetan plateau's environment and resources.

Mr. Chairperson, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, indigenous Jumma peoples have been reduced to minority because of the implantation of over half a million Bengali settlers from 1979-1983. The policy continues unabated. The grant of autonomy under the CHTs Peace Accord of 1997 has little meaning, as Jummas have become minority in their own land.

Similarly, West Papuans have become victims of transmigration of the majority Javanese. The ambiguous judgment of the Indonesian Constitutional Court on Law No. 45/1999 on the division of Papua has further deteriorated the conditions of the Papuans. The Constitutional Court declared Law 45/1999 unconstitutional and thus invalid as on the date of the verdict. However, in its legal considerations it provided the opinion that the Province of West Irian Jaya (West Papua), which had been established based on Law 45/1999 and the corresponding implementing legislation, is valid, unless the Court decides otherwise.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairperson, we urge the Commission on Human Rights to adequately take up the issue of population transfer and implantation of settlers as a separate sub-item of item 10.

I thank you, Mr. Chairperson.

Source: Phayul