UN experts on Thursday accused China of forcing hundreds of thousands of Tibetans into " vocational training
" programs
that threaten Tibetan identity and could lead to forced labor.
“
Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have reportedly been
'
relocated
'
from their traditional rural life into low-skilled, low-paying jobs since 2015, under a scheme described as voluntary.
But, in practice, their participation would have been forced
,” they wrote in a press release.
Question about consent
These experts, including the rapporteurs on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes, and on the right to development, Saad Alfarargi, are mandated by the Human Rights Council Male but do not speak on behalf of the UN.
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They claim that these “
labour transfer
” and “
vocational training
” programs in Tibet “
threaten Tibetan identity
” and “
may lead to a forced labor situation
”.
“
The Tibetans are transferred directly from the training centers to their new place of work, without it being known whether they consent to this new job.
There is no control to determine whether the working conditions constitute forced labor
”, denounce the rapporteurs.
Repressive measures torture
Tibet has been administered with an iron fist by China since the 1950s. Many Tibetans in exile accuse it of repressive measures and torture and claim that it seeks to erase their culture.
According to the six rapporteurs, the vocational training centers primarily practice “
cultural and political indoctrination in a militarized environment
”.
Participating Tibetans would thus be prevented from using the Tibetan language and deterred from displaying their religious identity.
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They fear that these programs are designed to promote “
a nation of one race and one ethnicity
” and believe that they risk further impoverishing Tibetans.
"
The Chinese government has an obligation to dismantle these discriminatory ideas and practices
", underline the rapporteurs.
“
Tibetans are being diverted from sustainable livelihoods for which they have traditionally had a comparative advantage, such as wool production and (manufacturing) of dairy products, to take up low-wage and low-skilled jobs in manufacturing and BTP
”, they observe.
In February, three UN rapporteurs accused Beijing of having separated a million Tibetan children from their families by placing them in boarding schools in order to assimilate them into the majority Han culture.