Genocide Recognition in Tibet: A Moral and Legal Imperative

London / 11th March 2025 / GATPM

On 10th March, an important event titled “The Importance of Genocide Recognition” was sponsored by Rosie Duffield MP, providing a vital platform for parliamentarians and affected communities to address ongoing genocide concerns. The meeting, held at Portcullis House, UK Parliament, from 9 am to 11 am, was attended by Fleur Anderson MP, Minister for Northern Ireland, alongside representatives from the Alliance for the Prevention of Atrocity Crimes and the Congress of Nations & States (CNS). Representatives from Hazara (Afghanistan), Dega (Vietnam), Irob and associated Tigrayan groups, Biafra (Nigeria), and Rohingya (Myanmar) made representations at the meeting, which was coordinated and moderated by James Joseph, Director of The Duty Legacy.

The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) took this opportunity to submit its powerful statement, Genocide Recognition in Tibet: A Moral and Legal Imperative. This statement urges the UK Government and Parliament to adopt a leadership role in advancing resolutions and actions that hold China accountable for its systematic persecution and cultural destruction of the Tibetan people, echoing the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) 1959 Report and the follow-up 1960 ICJ Report.

Tsering Passang, Founder and Chair of GATPM, welcomed this opportunity, stating: “Raising the issue of Tibet’s genocide in the UK Parliament is a significant step in our ongoing pursuit of justice. The atrocities committed against Tibetans clearly meet the Genocide Convention 1948 definition. We urge the UK Government to take a principled stand in holding China accountable and ensuring justice for the Tibetan people.”

GATPM’s statement highlights the urgent need for international recognition of the atrocities in Tibet as genocide, underscoring both the moral duty and the legal obligations of democratic nations to respond. By supporting such measures, the UK can demonstrate its commitment to justice, human rights, and the protection of persecuted minorities worldwide.

10th March 2025

We extend our sincere gratitude to Honourable Rosie Duffield MP for hosting this important event, “The Importance of Genocide Recognition,” at Portcullis House, UK Parliament. 

We appreciate the opportunity to present this Statement and commend her dedication to addressing crimes against humanity, including the ongoing genocide in Tibet.

Today marks the 66th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, when tens of thousands of Tibetans rose up in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, on 10 March 1959 against the invading People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops of China to protect their leader, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and to defend their nation’s sovereignty. In remembrance of this historic resistance, we reaffirm the urgent need for the international community to recognise and act upon the genocide in Tibet.

For over seven decades, Tibet has suffered under the brutal and illegal occupation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In its landmark 1959 report, “The Question of Tibet and the Rule of Law”, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) found that China had committed acts of genocide in Tibet, stating that “acts of genocide had been committed in Tibet in an attempt to destroy the Tibetans as a religious group.” The report documented mass killings, systematic destruction of Tibetan culture and religious institutions, and deliberate efforts to erase Tibet’s national identity. The ICJ’s 1960 follow-up report reinforced these findings, concluding that China’s policies in Tibet amounted to genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention (ICJ Report, 1959; ICJ Report, 1960).

Today, the evidence of genocide is clearer and more urgent than ever. China’s policies of forced assimilation, including its colonial-style boarding school system, represent the latest chapter in its ongoing destruction of Tibetan identity. Up to one million Tibetan children, some as young as four years old, have been forcibly separated from their families and placed in state-controlled institutions where they are systematically denied their language, history, and cultural rights. This mass removal and forced indoctrination are deliberate acts aimed at severing Tibetan identity from future generations.

1. Religious Persecution: A Continuing Genocidal Policy

China’s systematic persecution of Tibetan Buddhism remains a core pillar of its genocidal policies. Since the ICJ’s report over six decades ago, Beijing has intensified its repression of Tibetan religious life. Monasteries – once the heart of Tibetan culture – are under constant surveillance, and monks and nuns are arbitrarily detained for peaceful expressions of faith. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has criminalised the possession of images of the Dalai Lama, with severe punishments meted out to those caught venerating Tibet’s spiritual leader.

Reports from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief have documented Beijing’s relentless crackdown on Tibetan religious practices, including the forced “Sinicization” of Buddhism, where monks and nuns are subjected to re-education programmes that demand loyalty to the Communist Party over their spiritual beliefs. The demolition of Larung Gar and Yarchen Gar in Serta, eastern Tibet – two of the world’s largest Buddhist learning centres – illustrates the CCP’s intent to eradicate independent Tibetan religious institutions. Additionally, the CCP has assumed control over the identification and recognition of reincarnate Tibetan Buddhist masters, including the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, in a blatant attempt to dismantle the centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

2. Why Genocide Recognition Matters

Legal Precedent and Accountability

The 1948 Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. The evidence – documented over decades, including by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – proves that China’s actions in Tibet meet this threshold. Yet, the international community has failed in its legal and moral obligation to hold China accountable.

The ICJ’s 1959 report recommended that UN Member States take action to ensure Tibet’s plight was properly examined under international law. However, despite these clear recommendations, the world has remained largely silent while China continues its systematic cultural and demographic genocide in Tibet.

3. The UK’s Moral and Political Obligation

Britain has a unique historical responsibility toward Tibet, having maintained formal diplomatic relations with Tibet prior to the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The UK Government has a duty to recognise the ongoing genocide in Tibet and take a leadership role in addressing this crisis at the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and within multilateral forums such as the G7 and G20.

4. A Call for Policy Change

Recognition of genocide in Tibet must lead to concrete policy measures, including:

• Formal recognition of Tibet as an occupied country, challenging China’s false narrative of Tibet’s “peaceful liberation.”
• Reinforcing Tibet’s autonomy and its right to self-determination aligns with the UK’s Indo-Pacific strategy to ensure a free, open, and rules-based order.
• Targeted sanctions against Chinese officials and entities responsible for crimes against Tibetans.
• International legal action, including referrals to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
• Parliamentary resolutions recognising the ongoing genocide in Tibet, similar to the genocide designations on Uyghur Muslims on China’s occupied-East Turkestan.
• Support for Tibetan refugees and human rights defenders to ensure their safety and ability to advocate for justice.

5. A Crisis That Demands Action

We cannot stand by while an ancient civilisation is systematically erased. If the world is serious about its commitment to “Never Again,” it must recognise and respond to the ongoing genocide in Tibet. Silence and inaction embolden state perpetrators like the People’s Republic of China (PRC), paving the way for further atrocities.

The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) calls on the United Kingdom Government and the UK Parliament to take a leadership role in securing resolutions and actions to hold China accountable for its crimes against the Tibetan people. Enduring over seven decades of injustice is not only immoral but also emboldens perpetrators worldwide.

History will judge those who remained silent. The time to act is now.