What changed

B100253/2025

B100259/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the violations of religious freedom in Tibet

(2025/2692(RSP))

– having regard to Rule 150 ofthe itsUniversal RulesDeclaration of Procedure,Human Rights

A. whereas the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was abducted by the People’s Republic of China authorities in 1995, at the age of six, just 3 days after being recognised by the Dalai Lama; whereas since that day he has not been seen again;

having regard to its previous resolutions on China and Tibet,

B. whereas the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama is one of the most troubling cases of religious and cultural repression in Asia in recent decades;

A. whereas on March 29, 2025, Tibetan Buddhist leader Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche reportedly died under unclear circumstances in Chinese custody in Vietnam following his disappearance;

C. whereas the Chinese authorities deliberate and systematically targets influential Tibetan leaders, with enforced disappearances, persecutions, arbitrary arrests, physical abuses, prolonged detentions, and many other forms of oppression being an unacceptable pattern; whereas Tulku Hungkar Dorje is another example of a Tibetan leader being persecuted by the Chinese government;

B. whereas the legitimate 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was abducted by Chinese authorities in 1995 and has been missing ever since;

D. whereas according to international human rights reports, the Chinese government has been systematically restricting the size of Buddhist monasteries and other institutions, evicting monks and nuns from monasteries, and prohibiting them from freely practicing;

C. whereas May 17th marks the 30th anniversary of his abduction;

1. Urges the Chinese government to, immediately and unconditionally, release to the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as well as all the rest of arbitrarily arrested Tibetan leaders;

D. whereas on January 2025, several monks from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba were detained for participating in a prayer ceremony commemorating Dalai Lama’s teachings, reportedly held without formal charges and denied access to legal representation;

2. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the fact that the Chinese government has been systematically oppressing Tibetan leaders with brutal measures, including enforced disappearances and restrictions on religious freedom;

E. whereas the human rights situation inside Tibet continues to deteriorate, with reports of arbitrary detention, surveillance, cultural repression, and restrictions on movement and expression; whereas Tibetan Buddhism is increasingly subject to state interference, including mandatory alignment with the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party, state-controlled religious education, and the imposition of political content into monastic life; whereas religious communities have the right to carry out their essential functions freely, without external coercion;

3. Condemns the systematic violations of the human rights by the Chinese authorities reported in Tibet;

F. whereas UN experts have underlined that nearly one million Tibetan children are being forcibly placed in state-run residential schools aimed at cultural and linguistic assimilation, where Tibetan language and traditions are excluded, reflecting a broader policy of forced assimilation;

4. Urges to the Chinese authorities to immediately stop its repression against freedom of religion, and refrain from monitoring, harassing, detaining or otherwise intimidating leaders and members of religious groups; strongly condemns the systematic attacks to restrict religious activities in China, and, in particular the legislation on Administrative Measures for Religious Activity Venues, which increase party-state oversight of such activities, introducing propaganda elements into religious content, as well as the forced affiliation of bishops with the state-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association;

1. Expresses deep concern over the suspicious disappearance and sudden death of Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche in Chinese custody in Vietnam;

5. Is deeply concerned about the increasing levels of attacks, coercion, discrimination, harassment, violence and repression against religious freedom as a global phenomenon; in particular, condemns in the strongest possible terms the persecution against Christians, the most persecuted religious group in the world;

2. Calls on Vietnam and China to determine the circumstances of Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche’s disappearance, death and the hast cremation of his body without his family’s consent;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the relevant parties.

3. Condemns the abduction of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, by the Chinese authorities and demands verifiable information about his fate;

4. Urges the PRC government to fully respect its obligations under international law in Tibet, particularly with regard to the protection of cultural identity, freedom of religion or belief; condemns ongoing policies and practices that lead to the systematic erosion of Tibetan cultural and religious heritage, including restrictions on religious expression, interference in the selection of religious leaders, and the imposition of state ideology in monastic institutions;

5. Calls on the EU to impose targeted sanctions under EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against Chinese officials responsible for religious repression in Tibet; Encourages EU institutions and Member States to support Central Tibetan Administration’s efforts to preserve Tibetan culture and religion in exile;

6. Expresses its support for the Tibetan Buddhist community to freely appoint the community’s religious leaders and uphold their cultural, linguistic, and religious freedoms without interference, and the right to preserve their distinct identity; recalls the EU's firm position that the succession of the Dalai Lama must be determined solely by Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and condemns the PRC’s attempts to manipulate this process

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU Institutions, Member States, the government of the People’s Republic of China, and the government of Vietnam