时间：2023年9月18日
会议：第54届人权理事会与当代形式奴隶制特别报告员互动对话环节
发言组织：赫尔辛基人权基金会
发言人：Ms. Melanie Blondelle
大概内容：
Mr. President,
We thank the Special Rapporteur for his report.
In April 2023, multiple UN experts, among them the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, have identified so-called “labor transfer” and “vocational training” programs inflicted on the Tibetan people as a smoke screen suppressing the Tibetan people’s right to religious, linguistic, and cultural identity. We are grateful for the Special Rapporteur’s co-signing of the relevant public statement.
In July 2022, the Special Rapporteur raised his concern regarding labor transfer programs also in the Tibet Autonomous Region, where “indicators of forced labour pointing to the involuntary nature of work rendered by affected communities have been present in many cases”, which in “some instances may amount to enslavement as a crime against humanity, meriting a further independent analysis.”
Contrary to claims of improving living conditions, research indicates military-style training, political indoctrination and assignment to workplaces – most likely not voluntarily – as well as the absence of clear remuneration.
UN experts also called on China to explain how it will align the programs with its obligations under international law to prevent forced labor.
We call on Human Rights Council members to use the upcoming UPR of China to urge the Chinese government to make information on labor transfer and training schemes in Tibetan areas publicly available and include provisions that allow Tibetans to opt out of these programs.
Thank you.
