Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Tibet.

The resolution was tabled by the EFD, Greens/EFA, ALDE, EPP and ECR groups.

It notes that 38 Tibetans, mostly monks and nuns, have reportedly set themselves on fire since 2009 in protest against restrictive Chinese policies in Tibet and in support of the return of the Dalai Lama and the right to religious freedom in the Aba/Ngaba county prefecture in Sichuan Province and other parts of the Tibetan plateau. The current state of wellbeing and the whereabouts of a number of victims of self-immolation remain unknown or unclear. In addition the 11th Panchen Lama, was detained by the authorities of the People's Republic of China and has not been seen since 14 May 1995. Members consider that Tibetan identity, language, culture and religion – the testimony to a historically rich civilisation – are endangered by the resettlement of Han people in the historical territory of Tibet and the extermination of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Tibetans. They insist that China reveal the fate and whereabouts of all the victims of self-immolations in Tibet, and the fate and whereabouts of Chedun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama.

Parliament calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to increase and intensify efforts to address the human rights situation of the Tibetans in the framework of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue. It regrets the unwillingness of the Chinese authorities to hold the dialogue twice a year and their stance concerning the modalities and frequency of the meetings, with regard in particular to the strengthening of the civil society segment and the involvement of civil society in the dialogue. It urges the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union to make every effort to ensure that the human rights dialogue is more effective and result-oriented.

Members recall that the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama have approached the Chinese Government to find a peaceful and mutually beneficial solution to the issue of Tibet, and they express disappointment that the Chinese Government has been unwilling to continue the dialogue with the envoys of the Dalai Lama since January 2010.

They endorse the principles set out in the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan people, proposed by the Dalai Lama in 2008, which provide the basis for a realistic and sustainable political solution to the issue of Tibet. Parliament rejects the argument made by China that the engagement of governments with the Dalai Lama and members of the elected Tibetan leadership and the expression of support by governments for a peaceful resolution of the issue of Tibet through dialogue and negotiations constitute breaches of the ‘One China Policy’. It calls on China to grant meaningful autonomy to the historical territory of Tibet.

Parliament urges the VP/HR to:

· appoint a special coordinator with a mandate to report regularly on Tibet in order to advance respect for the human rights of the Tibetan people, to support constructive dialogue and negotiations and to provide assistance to Tibetan refugees, in particular in Nepal and India;

· address the human rights situation in Tibet at every meeting with the representatives of the People's Republic of China.

Parliament states that China used disproportionate force while dealing with the protests of 2008 in Tibet and have, ever since, imposed restrictive security measures that curtail freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of belief. The number of victims of the 2008 protests may have exceeded 200, the number of those detained varies from 4 434 to more than 6 500, and there were 831 known political prisoners in Tibet at the end of 2010, of whom 360 were judicially convicted and 12 were serving life sentences. Furthermore, torture, use of electroshock weapons, long-term solitary confinement, starvation and other similar measures are reportedly used to extract confessions in the prisons of Tibet by the Chinese authorities. Parliament condemns any form of torture of persons in custody and urges China to allow an independent international investigation to be conducted into the 2008 protests and their aftermath, and calls for the release of the political prisoners. Furthermore, Parliament urges China to:

· allow the independent international inspection of the prisons and detention centres in Tibet;

· guarantee freedom of religion both for the people of Tibet and for all of its citizens;

· uphold the linguistic, cultural, religious and other fundamental freedoms of Tibetans and to refrain from settlement policies in favour of the Han people and to the disadvantage of the Tibetans in historical territories of Tibet, as well as from forcing Tibetan nomads to abandon their traditional lifestyle;

· lift all restrictions and allow unfettered access and freedom of movement throughout Tibet to independent media, journalists and human rights monitors;

Lastly, Members call on the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, once appointed, to report regularly on the human rights situation in the People's Republic of China, in particular with regard to Tibet.

T7-0257/2012

Debate in Parliament

B7-0312/2012

B7-0314/2012

B7-0315/2012

B7-0319/2012

B7-0320/2012

RC-B7-0312/2012