EU statements and resolutions on Tibet

European Parliament (Strasbourg)

18 April 2009

The European Council on Foreign Relations stated that it believes Beijing actively exploits divisions between EU member states who are happy to deal with China as if it is a developing nation rather than an economic superpower. The Council stated that "the strategy of unconditional engagement is no longer working. The old approach has been rendered obsolete by China's power, its skillful exploitation of European weaknesses and its refusal to become a democracy."

The report said that China "treats its relationship with the EU as a game of chess, with 27 opponents crowding the other side of the board and squabbling about which piece to move" and also stated that "The EU's China strategy is based on an anachronistic belief that China, under the influence of European engagement, will liberalise its economy, improve the rule of law and democratise its politics... Yet China's foreign and domestic policy has evolved in a way that has paid little heed to European values, and today Beijing regularly contravenes or even undermines them."

10 March 2009

European lawmakers urged China to renew dialogue on real autonomy for Tibet, stating in their resolution that it "urges the Chinese government to consider the Memorandum for Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan people of November 2008 as a basis for substantive discussion." The parlimentarians urged 27 European Union nations to "adopt a declaration calling on the Chinese government to open a constructive dialogue." The resolution was passed with 338 votes for, 131 against and 14 abstentions.

14 October 1989

A resolution was passed urging the Chinese Government to respect the rights of the Tibetan people to religious and cultural freedom, and suggesting that the Dalai Lama's Five-Point Peace Plan could provide the basis for a settlement of the Tibetan issue.

15 March 1989

A resolution was passed deploring the loss of life in recent disturbances in Lhasa, condemning the subsequent violent repression, and calling for the lifting of martial law. The European Parliament urged the Chinese Government to hold discussions with the Dalai Lama on the future of Tibet, and called on Beijing to respect the autonomous status of Tibet as defined within the framework of the Chinese Constitution.

April 1990

The Sub-Committee for Human Rights of the Political Affairs Committee of the European Parliament held a hearing on Tibet which was addressed by the Dalai Lama. At a meeting following the hearing, the decision was made to appoint a Special Rapporteur.

July 1991

A Resolution from the Political Affairs Committee condemned human rights violations in Tibet and called for the release of political prisoners, an end to torture, executions and intimidation, the cessation of environmental degradation, an immediate reversal of the policy of population transfer, an end to discrimination against Tibetans in health and education, and constructive dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government.

February 1992

A resolution was passed calling for the release of those people detained for practising religion or peacefully advocating the establishment of democratic rights, and expressing concern at prison conditions.

September 1992

A resolution was passed calling for the release of all those imprisoned for practising their religious faith, and for an end to forced abortion. It also expressed concern for the conditions in which prisoners are held, in particular the paucity of medical treatment.

16 November 1992

A resolution was passed calling for the immediate release of all Tibetan political prisoners. The Chinese Government was also urged to allow the Red Cross to visit prisons and communicate with prisoners.

15 December 1992

A resolution was passed condemning human rights violations in Tibet, and demanding the release of all political prisoners. It called for an immediate end to environmental degradation, economic exploitation, discrimination against Tibetans, and Chinese immigration into Tibet. The European Parliament expressed regret that the Dalai Lama's efforts to bring about negotiations had come to nothing, and urged the resumption of talks between the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and Beijing. A request was made that the granting of aid to China be conditional on the observance of human rights and freedoms, and that EC-funded projects in Tibet should serve the needs of the Tibetan community.

24 June 1993

A resolution was passed deploring the brutal suppression of recent demonstrations in Lhasa, and calling for the immediate release of all prisoners not charged with an internationally recognised crime (these included Gendun Rinchen, Lobsang Yonten and Damchoe Pemo). The European Parliament regretted that the Dalai Lama's planned address to the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna was cancelled after Chinese pressure.

16 September 1993

A resolution was passed calling on the Chinese authorities to release all those detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression. The European Parliament declared its support for the "courageous activities" of Gendun Rinchen, and suggested that the Olympic Games should not be held in Beijing in the year 2000 unless progress were made in ensuring respect for human rights.

28 October 1993

On the eve of sending a delegation to Beijing, the European Parliament passed a resolution declaring that its relations with China would only be normalised if Beijing provided information about political prisoners in China and Tibet.

17 May 1995

A resolution was passed calling upon the Commission to recognise that the Panam County Integrated Rural Development Project had been proposed by the People's Republic of China as part of a scheme to feed Chinese settlers and was therefore contrary to the interests of the Tibetan people, to redeploy resources from the Panam Project to aid which would better serve the Tibetan people, to ensure that any future proposals relating to Tibet are subject to a full and open consultation process, and to make the granting of aid to China conditional on improvements in human rights. It urged the PRC to enter into discussions on the future of Tibet with the Tibetan government in exile, to release all prisoners of conscience, to ensure that all detainees are protected from torture, to acknowledge its responsibility to ensure that the Fourth World Conference for Women allows proper facilities for the NGO Forum and access to women from Tibet, Taiwan, and elsewhere, and to abandon policy and legislation which promotes coercive birth control practices.

13 July 1995

A resolution was passed expressing concern at the abduction of Gendun Choekyi Nyima and reaffirming the illegal nature of the Chinese occupation. The resolution called on the Chinese authorities to ensure that Gendun Choekyi Nyima and his family be immediately released and to put an end to violations of human rights, and expressed support for the Dalai Lama¹s efforts to restore the cultural and religious freedom and political autonomy of the Tibetan people.

14 December 1995

A resolution was passed condemning China's intervention in the nomination of a candidate for the title of Panchen Lama, and urging the Chinese authorities to respect the wishes of the Tibetan people by accepting Gendun Choekyi Nyima as the true Panchen Lama. It requested that European Union delegates be allowed to visit Gendun Choekyi Nyima, his family and Chadrel Rinpoche to ensure they are safe, and called upon the Chinese authorities to accord full freedom of worship to Tibetan monks. It called on representatives of the Council and Commission to exert strong pressure on the Chinese authorities to cease their unacceptable treatment of the Tibetan people, and stated the belief that the final decision to proceed with the Panam Project should not be taken until such time as these requests be met.

18 April 1996

A resolution called on the member states of the European Union to use all diplomatic means available to them to ensure that a resolution on the human rights situation in China and Tibet be approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights.

European Community

4 March 1992

Member States of the EC submitted a Resolution to the UN Commission on Human Rights voicing their grave concern at continuing reports of human rights violations in Tibet, and calling on the Chinese Government to take measures to ensure the full observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Tibetan people.

16-23 May 1993

A delegation of ambassadors from EC Member States visiting Tibet requested information about Gendun Rinchen and Lobsang Yonten, who had been arrested for trying to contact them, and asked to see them in prison. After its week-long visit, the delegation issued a joint declaration which stated that harmonious relations between Tibetans and Chinese living in Tibet were non-existent; that the Chinese presence was supported by large military and security forces; that official figures claiming just 3% of the population of Tibet were ethnic Chinese were understated; that increased economic activity had brought more benefit to Chinese newcomers than to Tibetans; that the use of Chinese in official documents was a barrier to the advancement of Tibetans; that schooling in Tibetan was not always available, and that there was a large rate of non-attendance among Tibetans; and that although religious activity was not suppressed and the renovation of religious sites was very much in evidence, there were considerable doubts as to whether religion received the freedom of action and funding at an organisational level needed to achieve its full potential as a fundamental part of the Tibetan culture.

Note: Damchoe Pemo was released in November 1993; Gendun Rinchen and Lobsang Yonten were both released in January 1994

European Union Annual Report on Human Rights 2008

Article 89 stated that the EU:

Regrets China's postponement of the eleventh China-EU summit on the grounds of the Dalai Lama's visit to Europe; emphasises the need for a radical intensification and re-thinking of the European Union-China human rights dialogue; expresses its disquiet at the serious human rights violations in China and stresses that, despite promises made by the regime before the Olympic Games in August 2008, the situation on the ground regarding human rights has not improved; points out, moreover, that restrictions on freedom of association, expression and religion have been further tightened; strongly condemns the crackdown against Tibetans following the wave of protests that swept across Tibet beginning on 10 March 2008 and the repression by the Chinese government that has increased in Tibet since then, and calls for the restart of a sincere and results-oriented dialogue between both parties based on the "Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People"; notes that, despite repeated assurances by the Chinese government of its intention to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratification is still pending; refers to Parliament's resolution of 17 January 2008 on the arrest of the Chinese dissident Hu Jia(32) , who has been awarded the 2008 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought; calls on the Chinese government to release Hu Jia immediately and to lift the house arrest on his wife Zeng Jinyan and his daughter; condemns the wave of repression against signatories of the "Charter 08", a document calling for democratic reforms in China and demanding the release of Liu Xiaobo, a dissident who has been detained since 9 December 2008; expresses concern that the legal system remains vulnerable to arbitrary and often politically-motivated interference, including the State Secrets system, preventing the transparency necessary for the development of good governance and a system in which the rule of law prevails; in this context, deplores the systematic punishment of lawyers who try to make the Chinese legal system function in accordance with China's own laws and the rights of its citizens; notes the persisting frailty of internet freedom in China, and in this respect asks European businesses providing an internet content hosting service to refrain from disclosing to any foreign official any information that personally identifies a particular user of the service in question save for legitimate foreign law-enforcement purposes in compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.