What changed

B100251/2025

B100254/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the violationsViolations of Religiousreligious Freedomfreedom in Tibet

(2025/2692(RSP))

- having regardsregard to its previous resolutionresolutions on the People’s Republic of China (PRC);China,

- having regard to Rules 136(2) and (4)150 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. Whereas Article 36 of the PRC Constitution states that citizens “enjoy freedom of religious belief” and explicitly prohibits any discriminating against citizens on the basis of their religious beliefs; whereas Article 11 of the Law on Regional National Autonomy provides that “the State shall protect normal religious activities,” and Article 3 of Measures for the Management of Religious Professionals reaffirms the “nation's principle of religious independence and self-management”;

whereas under the authoritarian rule of the CCP under Xi Jinping the Chinese government intensified a policy of Sinicization and assimilation of Tibetan Buddhism that includes widespread persecution, political-re-education, disinformation about Tibet, falsification of its history destruction of religious sites, such as in Drago County, mass surveillance, cultural and linguistic suppression, population control and mass relocation as laid out in several legal provisions, including the PRC Patriotic Education Law, and Xi’s remarks at the 7th Tibet Work Forum of August 2020;

B. Whereas the Regulations on Religious Affairs restrict contact with overseas religious institutions and travel abroad, limit the amount of donations, and mandate that the religious publications comply with guidelines of the Chinese Communist Party’s Propaganda Department;

whereas Tibetan Buddhists, who are systemically targeted by Chinese authorities, face forced disappearances and physical abuse, represent the largest religious group among political prisoners in China; whereas Tulku Hungkar Dorje, a 56-year-old Tibetan Buddhist leader who disappeared in China eight months ago, reportedly died under mysterious circumstances in Chinese custody in Vietnam in late March 2025 and swiftly cremated his body in Vietnam without the consent of his family;

C. Whereas the Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy require religious groups to “strengthen political education” and clergy to pledge allegiance to the CCP and “persist in the direction of the Sinicization of the country’s religions”;

whereas the defence of universal human rights should be at the centre of the EU’s engagement with China;

D. Whereas the Measures for the Administration of Tibetan Buddhist Temples of 1 December 2024 further tightened state control over Tibetan Buddhism;

Strongly condemns the PRC’s violations of universal human rights in Tibet, including targeting individuals striving for the preservation of Tibetan language, culture and environment; opposes to any effort by the Chinese government to select Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leaders, including the Dalai Lama.

E. Whereas the CCP’s United Front Work Department exercises direct control over all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, including the recognition of lamas, the management of religious venues, organizations, personnel, and educational institutions; whereas the PRC government claims ultimate authority over the appointment of the next Dalai Lama;

Urges the Chinese government to immediately end its oppressive assimilation policy in Tibet and elsewhere, allow free and peaceful religious practice, and to release all religious and political prisoners, including the Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family who were abducted by Chinese authorities in May 1995;

F. Whereas since 1994 PRC authorities have reportedly carried out widespread “patriotic re-education” in Tibetan Buddhist communities, restricted religious practices, destroyed sites and symbols, persecuted clergy, and detained individuals for honouring the Dalai Lama;

Calls for the EU and the Member States to adopt sanctions against high-ranking officials and entities involved in human rights violations in Tibet, and warn China that its actions in Tibet will have consequences for the development of all areas of EU-China relations;

G. Whereas Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, then six years old, disappeared along with his parents from their village in Tibet on 17 May 1995, just three days after being recognized by the Dalai Lama as the eleventh reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, and his whereabouts remain unknown;

Recalls that the PRC is an authoritarian one-party dictatorship that restricts freedoms of speech, religion, assembly and cultural expression, particularly of ethnic and religious minority groups, including Tibetans; notes that these actions are fundamentally contrary to the universal values enshrined in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

H. Whereas these violations of religious freedom and efforts to “Sinicize” faiths reflect broader discriminatory policies against ethnic minorities, consistent with similar repression in other regions, notably against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang;

calls for an independent investigation into the death of Tulku Hungkar Dorje; and urges the EU to come up with targeted measures to investigate and prevent China’s transnational repression against diaspora groups;

1. Condemns all forms of religious persecution in Tibet and across the PRC, including forced indoctrination and discrimination based on religion or belief;

Recalls the importance of the EU raising the issue of human rights violations in China, particularly the situation in Tibet, at all political and human rights dialogues with the Chinese authorities; calls on the EU and the Member States to counter disinformation about Tibet;

2. Calls for a clear separation between State and religion in China, grounded in principles of independence and non-interference in religious affairs;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Chinese Mission of the PRC in Brussels, the Chinese MFA, the VP/HR, the Commission, the Member States and the United Nations;

3. Asserts that the current rules and policies on religious activities go beyond the legitimate goal of protecting State secularism and “maintain and promote harmony among different religions, within the same religion, and between religious and non-religious citizens” recalled in the Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy;

4. Urges the PRC authorities to uphold its Constitution and cease all forms of discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities;

5. Calls on the PRC government to provide credible information regarding the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family and to permit their safe return to Tibet;

6. Instructs to forward this resolution to the EU and PRC authorities.