Tibet: Swiss Foreign Policy Commission recommends govt to submit report on implementation of rights dialogue with Beijing

This decision was taken on November 9 by the Foreign Policy Commission under the National Council of Switzerland (Upper-House of Swiss Parliament), while deciding on a 2018 petition on the human rights of Tibetans in Switzerland, according to Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), reports ANI.

On September 10, 2018, the Society for Threatened Peoples along with the Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association (popularly known as GSTF) had submitted a petition signed by over 11,000 Swiss citizens calling for a more active engagement at international level vis-a-vis China on the human rights situation in Tibet and for the protection of the culture and language of Tibetans, reports ANI.

They also called to fully guarantee freedom of expression in Switzerland on the situation in Tibet; to make a firm commitment to respect the freedom of movement of Tibetans by recognizing their status as persons in need of protection and by issuing a passport to persons concerned; and adopt concrete measures to protect the Tibetan community from the surveillance which it is subjected to Switzerland and guarantee respect for private life by intervening, if necessary, with the Chinese authorities, ANI reported.

The petition was also supported by the Tibetan Community of Switzerland and Lichtenstein, Tibetan Women's Association of Switzerland and the Tibetan Youth Association of Europe.

Nicolas Walder, Member of the National Council as well as the Foreign Policy Commission during the closing note of the Geneva Forum 2020 was quoted as saying by ANI: "We are asking the Swiss government for a report on the result of the so-called constructive dialogue on human rights since several decades. We want to see what did it bring concerning human rights and obviously, the result is quite bad because we all can see that the situation is worsening for the minorities in China including religious minorities." 

"This is quite a new development because until now business was the priority when talking with China and everybody is a little worried about speaking on human rights. We are quite pleased that now we can openly discuss the policies towards China," he said.