Open letter from Chinese Civil Society Organizations to the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council

Dear President of the UN Human Rights Council,

As a crucial organ of the United Nations General Assembly aimed at promoting and protecting human rights, the Human Rights Council plays a pivotal role in advancing global human rights development. We sincerely admire this role and express high appreciation for your commitment to upholding guiding principles such as universality, impartiality, objectivity, non-selectivity, as well as constructive international dialogue and cooperation in your work.

We have noticed, over the past period, organizations including the so-called International Federation for Human Rights, International Campaign for Tibet(Xizang) and Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, have been using the platform of the Human Rights Council to spread false information and cause trouble on a large scale, with the purpose of attacking and smearing China. They fabricated lies such as "colonial boarding school system" "repression of Tibetan Buddhism" "systematic attacks on the Tibetan language" "limit the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of peaceful association and assembly" "denial of the legal rights of detainees and prisoners" "torture and other forms of ill-treatment", attempting to manipulate the Human Rights Council into making biased statements on the issue of Xizang, inciting other countries to attack and criticize China. These practices of distorting right and wrong completely ignore the history and reality of Xizang, disregarding the tremendous achievements in the development of human rights in Xizang, lacking basic objectivity and truthfulness. Once successful, it will significantly impact the credibility of the Human Rights Council, seriously disrupt the enthusiasm and expectations of normal participation by countries worldwide and global NGOs in the working mechanisms of the Human Rights Council, greatly harm the sentiments of the 1.4 billion people in China including Xizang, and severely misguide the global populace's accurate understanding and international public opinion of Xizang. We strongly oppose the maliciously fabricated and baseless accusations, object to the politicization, instrumentalization, and stigmatization of human rights in Xizang.

In today's Xizang, governments at all levels and people of all ethnicities are making efforts to promote political stability, social harmony, economic development, national unity, religious harmony, rule of law, and ecological well-being. They are working to ensure more comprehensive protection of basic human rights. The people of Xizang have firsthand experiences of these efforts, and many foreign media outlets that have visited Xizang have also provided extensive and objective coverage.

Rumors originate from schemers, thrive among the foolish, and cease with the wise. We strongly urge the Human Rights Council to remember the original intention and mission of establishing the universal periodic review mechanism, eliminate confusing noises, prevent lies and false accusations impacting the Council's consideration of significant human rights issues with genuine practical significance. We call for the respect of legitimate information provided by member states and the making of objective, rational, and fair judgments.

24 January 2024

Organizations

1. Chongqing Centre for Equal Social Development

2. China Society for Human Rights Studies

3. China Foundation for Human Rights Development

4. China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture

5. China Tibetology Research Center

6. High-level Tibetan Buddhism College of China

7. Xizang's Academy of Social Science

8. Xizang Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences

9. Tibet University

10. Xizang Minzu University

11. University of Xizang Medicine

12. Xizang Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University

13. Women's Federation of Xizang Autonomous Region

14. Xizang Federation of Literary and Art Circles

15. Xizang Autonomous Region Federation of Industry and Commerce

16. Xizang Branch of China Buddhist Association

17. Xizang Disabled Persons' Federation

18. Internet Society of Xizang

19. Xizang Youth Development Foundation

20. Xizang Autonomous Region Women's Development Association

21. Xizang Starlight Social Work Service Center

22. South Asia Research Center of Sichuan University

23. Human Rights Law Research Center of Sichuan University

24. Pan-Himalayan Communication Research Center of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

25. Sichuan Normal University China Western Frontier Research Institute

26. Southwest Minzu University Tibetan-Qiang-Yi Corridor Research Base for Fostering a Stronger Sense of the Chinese Nation as One Community

27. Research centre for Fostering a Stronger Sense of the Chinese Nation as One Community

28. Aba Vocational College

29. Aba Teachers College

30. Ganzi Vocational College

31. Sichuan Architecture Industry Chamber of Commerce

32. Sichuan Chuanlian Retail Industry Chamber of Commerce

33. Sichuan Tourism Chamber of Commerce

34. Sichuan Chuanlian Agricultural Industrialization Leading Enterprise Association

35. Sichuan Chuanlian Sports Industry Chamber of Commerce

36. Sichuan Cultural Industry Chamber of Commerce

37. Sichuan landscape Industry Association

38. Sichuan Chuanlian SME Chamber of Commerce

39. Aba Teachers College non-party intellectuals Association

40. Yunnan University

41. Kunming University of Science and Technology

42. Yunnan University of Finance and Economics

43. Yunnan Agricultural University

44. Yunnan Normal University

45. Southwest Forestry University

46. Dali University

47. Kunming University

48. Yunnan Province Association for Southeast Asian Studies

49. Yunnan National Unity Progress Association

50. Yunnan Youth Development Foundation

51. Yunnan Alternative Development Association

52. Yunnan Charity Federation

53. Institute for Central Asian Studies Lanzhou University

54. Research Center of Northwest Minority Education Development, Northwest Normal University

55. Gansu National Unity and Progress of the Cause of Innovation and Wisdom of the Treasury

56. Gansu Institute of Silk Road Economic Studies

57. New Urbanization Construction and Research Center for Precision Poverty Alleviation in Minority Areas of Gansu

58. Research Center of Ecological Construction and Environmental Protection

59. The Research Center for Modern Agriculture and Rural Social Integration Development in Gansu Province

60. Gansu Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Inheritance and Development Research Think Tank

61. Research Center for Rural Governance and Development-Oriented Poverty Alleviation of Lanzhou Jiaotong University

62. Key Laboratory of Digital Protection Technology Research Intangible Cultural Heritage

63. Qinghai University

64. Qinghai Minzu University

65. Qinghai Normal University

66. Qinghai Open University

67. Qinghai Association for Science and Technology

68. Qinghai Disabled Persons' Federation

69. Qinghai Provincial Federation of Literature and Art Circles

70. Red Cross Society of Qinghai

71. Qinghai Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce

72. Qinghai Federation of Trade Unions

73. Qinghai Provincial Women's Federation