Six human rights experts or special rapporteurs from the United Nations have spoken out to condemn China for expelling nuns and monks from major Tibetan religious enclaves, the New York Times reported.
They issued a statement, in which they called the expulsion a severe restriction of religious freedom in the Tibetan region.
Most of the expulsions the experts particularly addressed took place at Larung Gar, the largest Buddhist institute in the world. Located in Sichuan Province, Larung Gar’s community of about 20,000 monks and nuns have been displaced due to their homes being demolished by officials. In addition, unregistered monks and nuns living in Garze Prefecture were also deported by local officials.
According to official reports, the demolition project around Larung Gar aims to improve area safety. Residents, however, say that the government plans to bring Larung Gar’s population from 20,000 to 5,000 by 2018.
The statement also made mention of the incidents at Yachen Gar, also located in Sichuan, and home to approximately 10,000 nuns.
“While we do not wish to prejudge the accuracy of these allegations, grave concern is expressed over the serious repression of the Buddhist Tibetans’ cultural and religious practices and learning in Larung Gar and Yachen Gar,” the statement read.
It’s not usual for UN human rights experts to come together to issue a joint statement. The six special rapporteurs come from different parts of the globe and specialize in different fields of human rights, such as peaceful assembly, cultural rights, and sustainable environment.
The group sent the statement to the Chinese government back in November, but it was only made public before the 2017 session of the United Nations Human Rights Council commenced last Monday.
Beijing has yet to issue a response to the statement. However, it brings additional pressure on China to explain the expulsions in the Geneva session.