GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Human Rights Council
Fiftieth Regular Session
June 24, 2022
Statement delivered by Kai Müller on behalf of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Mr. President,
We thank the special rapporteur for her report on media freedom and the safety of journalists in the digital age. We agree in the urgent need to protect journalists as well as media pluralism.
Unfortunately in Tibet, media freedom is severely lacking. Repeatedly ranked as the least free region in the world by the organization Freedom House, the online activities and communications of everyday Tibetans are carefully monitored and censored.
While media freedom and journalist rights are being eroded around the world, we must not forget areas such Tibet where every day citizens remain isolated from the international community, and are unable to engage with free and independent media, let alone private conversations.
The recent detention and sentencing of the public intellectual Go Sherab Gyatso and other Tibetans exemplifies the level of scrutiny and control inside Tibet. We welcome recent communications by UN Special Procedures on Go Sherab Gyatso, Rinchen Tsultrim[1], Lobsang Lhundup, Lhundup Drakpa and Rinchen Kyi.[2]
Furthermore, we welcome the recent joint communication by 42 United Nations independent experts[3] on reiterating the June 2020 call by 50 United Nations independent experts for a special mechanism to monitor the human rights situation in China and urge the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the members of the Human Rights Council to support these calls.
Thank you.
[1] AL CHN 7/2021, 16 July 2021;
[2] AL CHN 14/2021, 17 February 2022;
[3] „China must address grave human rights concerns and enable credible international investigation: UN experts”, 10 June 2022, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/06/china-must-address-grave-human-rights-concerns-and-enable-credible.
