Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 17: A coalition of 30 human rights organisations has called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to take immediate and verifiable steps on human rights, including resuming dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama, releasing the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, and repealing China’s newly enacted “Ethnic Unity and Progress Law” ahead of Xi’s upcoming visit to the United States.
The open letter, issued on September 16 ahead of Xi’s expected September 24 visit to Washington, also urged Beijing to release prisoners of conscience, end transnational repression, and reform laws and policies that criminalise peaceful expression, religious practice, association, and dissent.
The signatories include the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Amnesty International USA, Freedom House, Human Rights Foundation, World Uyghur Congress, and International Tibet Network (ITN), among others.
On Tibet, the coalition specifically called for the resumption of substantive and unconditional dialogue with representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
The organisations also demanded the immediate release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, who has not been publicly seen since his disappearance in 1995. The letter additionally calls for the release of other political prisoners and individuals it identifies as prisoners of conscience.
The third Tibet-related demand centres on China’s “Ethnic Unity and Progress Law,” which was passed by the National People’s Congress in March and came into force on July 1, 2026. The legislation has drawn criticism from ICT and other rights organisations, which argue that it provides a legal framework for the assimilation of Tibetans and other non-Chinese ethnic communities.
Separately, the Washington-based advocacy group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) urged US President Donald Trump to make Tibet and human rights a prominent part of his forthcoming talks with Xi. ICT called on Trump to press Beijing to restart substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama and Tibetan representatives, secure the release of the Panchen Lama and oppose policies that, according to the organisation, seek to erode Tibet’s religious, linguistic, and cultural distinctiveness.
ICT President Tencho Gyatso said existing US legislation, including the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 and the Resolve Tibet Act of 2024, provides a policy framework for Washington to promote a negotiated resolution to the Tibet-China dispute through substantive dialogue without preconditions.
The rights group also pointed to what it describes as increasing political interference in Tibetan Buddhist institutions, the demolition of monastic residences, the separation of Tibetan children from their families through state-run boarding schools, and the detention of Tibetans over peaceful expression.
The new ethnic unity law has become a particular focus of international criticism. ICT stated the legislation codifies policies it characterises as forced assimilation and places greater emphasis on a unified national identity under Communist Party leadership. The organisation has also raised concerns about the law’s extraterritorial implications.
The open letter, rights group said, frames the three Tibet-related demands within a broader appeal for human rights reforms across China, arguing that the forthcoming US-China engagement should be accompanied by concrete and verifiable measures rather than diplomatic commitments alone.
