Tibetans, Uyghurs urge UN to pressure China over new law seen as erasing culture

Representatives of Tibetan and Uyghur communities have appealed to the United Nations, urging member states to pressure China into repealing a new law they contend will lead to cultural and ethnic eradication. The "Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress," set to take effect on July 1, is described by human rights advocates as a legal tool to enforce Beijing's long-standing policy of forcibly assimilating ethnic minorities into the Han Chinese majority.

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This is cultural genocide. With this law, Tibetans are legally no longer allowed to exist.

According to reports, the law aims to foster a "common" national identity and "enhance cohesion" among China's 55 recognized ethnic minorities. However, critics argue it criminalizes activities such as "violent terrorism, ethnic separatism, or religious extremism," effectively providing a legal basis to suppress minority cultures, languages, and religious practices. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has already called for the law's repeal, warning it could "deepen restrictions on freedom of language, education, religious practice, culture, speech, and assembly."

At a UN Human Rights Council side event, Tibetan and Uyghur representatives shared their concerns. Thinlay Chukki, a representative of the Central Tibetan Administration, described the law as "cultural genocide," stating it would legally prohibit Tibetans from existing as a distinct cultural entity. She explained that the law legitimizes existing systems, such as mandatory Mandarin-language education and boarding schools in Tibet, which force Tibetan children to abandon their language and culture. Similar boarding school systems are reported in the Xinjiang region for Uyghurs.

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This law is about legislating the erasure of Tibetans' existence, Tibetan culture, and Tibetan language.

Zumretay Arkin, Vice Chair of the World Uyghur Congress, warned that Beijing intends to "destroy our integral identity and sever intergenerational transmission." She fears the law will "completely eradicate Uyghur identity, cultural heritage, and religion," compelling people to adopt Han Chinese identity. International Campaign for Tibet's Bhuchung Tsering condemned the law as a "sinister tactic targeting the youngest" to detach them from their culture, noting reports of Tibetan children unable to communicate with their parents. He highlighted provisions that compel parents to teach children a "new identity" and encourage citizens to report non-compliance, effectively turning children into informants against their own families.

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Beijing wants to destroy our integral identity and sever intergenerational transmission. This new law will completely eradicate Uyghur identity, cultural heritage, and religion. It will coerce people into adopting Han identity.

A Chinese representative at the meeting defended the law, accusing certain countries and organizations of using human rights to smear China. Meanwhile, Tibetan and Uyghur speakers urged diplomats and the UN to exert pressure on China to abolish the legislation, particularly a clause that could hold individuals and organizations abroad legally responsible for violating the new law. Arkin cautioned that this could enable China to "expand its use of transnational repression" against dissidents and human rights defenders globally. Germany's Foreign Ministry expressed "grave concern," stating the law expands the legal basis for Beijing's ethnic minority policies, especially "sinicization of religion," and risks further eroding minority language education and religious freedoms, potentially leading to the prosecution of individuals and organizations outside China.

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If you put these two clauses together, it is essentially forcing children to report their parents.