11 April, Geneva - The 56th UN Commission on Human Rights has been discussing the item dealing with civil and political rights and the rights of women during the past few days. NGOs statements have once again raised the violations confronting the Tibetan people in two statements on the rights of women. However, in a 24 February 1999 communication to the Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy (Sri Lanka), the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women of the Commission, the Chinese authorities said that the May 1998 Drapchi Prison protests never took place.

The Chinese communication was a response to a joint urgent appeal sent by three UN human rights investigators, the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and the Special Rapporteurs on the question of torture and freedom of opinion and expression in December 1998 on behalf of two Buddhist nuns, Ms. Ngawang Sangdrol and Ms. Ngawang Choezom. The Chinese communication now published in the report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women to the current session of the Commission on Human Rights, said: ... "Ms. Ngawang Sangdrol had been sentenced in November 1992 by the Lhasa Municipal Intermediate People's Court to three years' imprisonment and stripped of her political rights for one year. Having been admitted to prison she repeatedly engaged in separatist activities. On three separate occasions, in June 1993, June 1996 and October 1998, the Lhasa Municipal Intermediate Peoples's Court added to her sentence, making a total of 15 years in prison and deprivation of political rights for three years. It was indicated that Ngawang Sangdrol is currently serving her sentence at the Tibet Autonomous Region Prison, and is in normal health. The Government indicated that the claim that the two nuns were subjected to sexual violations is untrue. According to the Government, there has not been a demonstration by inmates since the Tibet Autonomous Region Prison was founded, and the incident referred to in the urgent appeal never took place. The Government stated that there is no such person as Ngawang Choezom at the Tibet Autonomous Prison."

This morning, Ms. Tsering Jampa delivered a statement on the violations suffered by Tibetan women in Tibet on behalf of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY). In the five minute statement to the Commission she refuted the Chinese response to the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women on the case of Ngawang Sangdrol. The statement said "... we wish also inform the Commission that the Chinese authorities have lied to the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (para. 35 of document E/CN.4/2000/68/Add.1) in its response on the case of Ngawang Sangdrol. The misinformation that demonstrations did not occur in May 1998 at Drapchi prison, in which Ngawang Sangdrol was involved, is contradicted by a August 1998 statement given by Justice Bureau in Lhasa to a delegation of the European Democratic Union (EDU). The Justice Bureau admitted that prisoners began to shout slogans including "Free Tibet!" and "Long Live the Dalai Lama!" during a flag raising ceremony on 1 May 1998. The Justice Bureau also confirmed that prison guards were so frightened that they fired guns into the air to "attract the attention of policeman outside the prison." Eleven prisoners were killed following the two protests, of whom, six were nuns, all in their twenties. Furthermore, the fact that Ngawang Sangdrol's sentence was extended by four years in October 1998 by the Intermediate People's Court in Lhasa, due to her participation in the 1 and 4 May 1998 Drapchi protests, is another clear proof that the prison protests did actually take place."

The International Council of Women also made statement which referred to the violations against Tibetan women Tibet. The full text of the IUSY statement is produced in this update.

This afternoon, an NGO briefing on the topic "Asians Against Impunity" was held at the United Nations which heard testimonies or statements from China, Burma, Hong Kong, North Korea, Tibet and Vietnam. Mrs. Chungdak Koren, Representative of H. H. the Dalai Lama, read a statement to the conference from Kalon Tsewang C. Tethong, Minister for Information and International Relations of the Tibetan Government in Exile which said: "Against this tragic situation in Tibet, we have a major task ahead. We will continue to raise these issues at international human rights conferences like the Commission on Human Rights. We believe big countries like China who occupy a permanent seat in the UN Security Council should be scrutinised for its repeated indifference to international human rights standards and treaties. In this regard, we also believe that bodies like the Commission on Human Rights have an important role to play. When the international community fails to act on countries like China it only encourages other countries to violate fundamental human rights with impunity."

On 13 April, Tibetans and their supporters will again hold a Vigil in front of the United Nations building in Geneva which will be followed by two more Vigils on 14 and 18 April.

Inside the UN building, International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) will hold a briefing on Child Rights in Tibet on 13 April at which Mr. Wei Jingsheng, Mr. John Ackerly (International Campaign for Tibet) and Mr. Kelsang Gyaltsen, EU Co-ordinator for Tibet will speak. Their statements will be followed by a special screening of the film "Tibet's Stolen Child" on the Eleventh Panchen Lama.

The Tibetan delegation is now joined by Mr. Lobsang Nyandak of the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Dharamsala, India.

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Last updated: 14-April-2000