Washington, May 2 US Senators Rick Scott and Jeff Merkley recently introduced the Tibet Atrocities Determination Act, which requires the Secretary of State to formally determine whether China's actions in Tibet constitute genocide or crimes against humanity.
According to an official statement, the legislation was introduced on April 29, coinciding with Martyrs’ Day observed by the Tibetan Youth Congress to honour those who sacrificed their lives for Tibet’s freedom.
"Communist China is committing genocide in Tibet. There is no way around it. The regime in Beijing has engaged in systematic killings, torture, forced sterilisation, forced displacement, government-sanctioned kidnapping, and a myriad of other crimes against humanity in its oppression of the Tibetan people. This is par for the course for an evil regime that is simultaneously waging a genocide against the Uyghurs, suppressing Christianity, and locking up political prisoners like my friend Jimmy Lai," said Senator Scott.
“The bloodshed needs to end, and China needs to be held accountable for all of it. I am glad to be partnering with Senator Merkley on this effort to hold the Chinese government accountable,” he added.
Highlighting the relentless atrocities against Tibetans, Senator Merkley said, “In the face of China’s continued assault on Tibetans, escalating cultural erasure, child separation, surveillance, imprisonment, and torture, America can’t stand silent. As the Chinese government continues to ignore the rights of the Tibetan people under international law, we must be clear that these crimes will not be ignored.”
The statement also cited reports from the US State Department and human rights organisations alleging ongoing enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture, and targetted repression of Tibetans, including the still-unresolved 1995 disappearance of the boy recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama.
It added that several reports have also highlighted a widespread boarding school system that separates Tibetan children from their families, restricts Tibetan language and cultural education, and subjects students to political indoctrination and surveillance.
Given the growing body of evidence, the statement said, there is a compelling need to examine whether the Chinese Communist Party’s policies meet the legal definition of genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention or amount to crimes against humanity.
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