UN Committee on Rights of the Child Urges China To Allow Visit to Boy Named As Panchen Lama

January 26, 2006

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on September 20 called for the Chinese government "to allow an independent body to verify the current status" of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the boy the Dalai Lama recognized in 1995 as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on September 20 called for the Chinese government "to allow an independent body to verify the current status" of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the boy the Dalai Lama recognized in 1995 as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. During meetings in Geneva, UNCRC Chairman Jacob Doek said the boy "has been taken against his and his parents' will from Tibet to China," and told the Chinese representative that Chinese authorities could "clear the air" by allowing a visit, according to a report the following day by the exiled Tibetan government. The Chinese official reportedly replied that he would forward the request, and advised Chairman Doek that the Chinese government has not permitted "foreigners" to visit the boy and his parents because "too much interference creates too many problems," and the family does not want "to be disturbed due to security reasons." The U.S. government has urged the Chinese government to end restrictions on Gedun Choekyi Nyima and his family and to allow international representatives to visit them.

After the Dalai Lama announced his recognition of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the State Council declared the announcement "illegal and invalid" and installed another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu (Xinhua report). Chinese security officials took Gedun Choekyi Nyima and his parents into custody and have kept them incommunicado since that time. Chinese authorities conduct political education classes in Tibetan monasteries and nunneries and require monks and nuns to endorse the legitimacy of Gyaltsen Norbu or face expulsion. Tibetans who possess an image of Gedun Choekyi Nyima or express support for him may face punishment that can include imprisonment.