Request to the United Nations High Commissioner to secure independent access to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima

Dear Ms Pillay,

As United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, we urge you to explicitly require the Chinese government to give verifiable proof of the well-being of the religious person, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family, who vanished without trace in 1995, shortly after the Dalai Lama named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was abducted by Chinese authorities, along with his family, at aged 6. For several years the Chinese authorities admitted they were holding him in custody. In recent years they have repeatedly claimed that he is leading an ordinary life with his family and does not want to be disturbed. Yet, the Chinese authorities have never allowed him to state this for himself. If this was true, one single, independently verifiable statement, or press conference from him would be enough to conclude the issue of his disappearance and his personal wishes to lead an ordinary life without outside disturbance. Such a statement or press conference has never been allowed to take place by the Chinese authorities. All outside contact with him and his family has been categorically denied by the Chinese government, despite repeated requests from the United Nations, European Union, several governments, numerous NGO groups and many concerned individuals. Even the simple request of an up-to-date photograph of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has repeatedly been denied by the Chinese government.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima will be twenty years of age on 25 April this year. He has now spent 14 years in Chinese government custody, more than two thirds of his life. All through this time he has been denied his fundamental rights as a human being to state exactly how he wishes to lead his life in his own words.

Enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is Article 19 which states: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and reagrdless of frontiers.

It is absolutely clear that not only is Gedhun Choekyi Nyima being denied these rights, but he is also being denied the fundamental right to speak for himself concerning his wishes on how he wants to lead his own life.

Therefore, as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, it is incumbent upon you to insist in the strongest possible terms to the Chinese authorities for independent access and verifiable proof of the well-being and personal wishes of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, and to ensure this is done without fear of reprisals and intimidation from the Chinese government to the said person and his family.

For fourteen years this case has been allowed to continue without any progress being made. The Chinese government continue to act with extreme intransigence on this issue, while other governments meekly accept their intransigence. We must bear in mind though that economics should not be placed higher than fundamental human rights, otherwise human rights become merely empty and meaningless words. As High Commissioner, it is your right and duty to investigate and ensure independent access is allowed to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, that his human rights are being defended, that he has the opportunity to express his own wishes and that he has the human right to have contact with the outside world.