Pro-Tibet groups hold protest in Geneva as UNHRC 61st session opens, raises concerns over rights situation in Tibet

Geneva [Switzerland], February 25 (ANI): More than 80 protesters, including Tibetans, members of the Suisse Romande Tibet Support Group, and Chinese Christians affiliated with The House Church and The Church of Almighty God, assembled in Geneva on the opening day of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council to highlight to diplomats from member states the ongoing decline in the human rights situation in Tibet, according to a report by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
The peaceful demonstration, held on 23 February 2026, was organised by the Tibetan Community in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (TCSL) and attended by Representative Thinley Chukki.
Also present were TCSL President Ngedun Gyatso Drongpatsang, Vice President Kalsang Namgyal Kangrang, members of the Executive Committee, and executive members of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe. From the Tibet Bureau in Geneva, UN Advocacy Officer Phuntsok Topgyal and Chinese Liaison Officer Sangay Kyab participated in the event alongside Representative Thinley Chukki.
Speaking to the gathering, Representative Thinley Chukki stated that the purpose of the protest was to remind the global community of the deaths of over one million Tibetans since 1959, the destruction of nearly 6,000 Tibetan monasteries, and, more recently, the forced enrolment of more than one million Tibetan children, some as young as four, into state-operated, colonial-style boarding schools.
She said these measures systematically separate Tibetan children from their linguistic and cultural roots. The protest, she stressed, represents the Tibetan people's ongoing and peaceful pursuit of justice and fundamental rights. "Even if progress is gradual, our efforts will eventually yield results," she concluded, as cited in the CTA report.
In his remarks, UN Special Rapporteur Nicolas referred to reports concerning the compulsory admission of large numbers of Tibetan children into state-run schools, characterising the policy as part of wider patterns of repression and systematic cultural suppression in Tibet. Representative Thinley Chukki also voiced serious concern regarding the People's Republic of China and its limitations on religious freedom in Tibet, and criticised interference in matters related to the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, according to CTA.
The 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council is set to be held in Geneva from 23 February to 31 March 2026, convening representatives of member states and civil society groups to discuss urgent human rights concerns around the world, the CTA report added. (ANI)