UN Committee Recommends Independent Expert to Visit Boy Named As Panchen Lama

January 26, 2006

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has recommended that the Chinese government "allow an independent expert to visit and confirm the well-being" of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the boy the Dalai Lama recognized as the Panchen Lama in 1995, in Concluding Observations of a report published on September 30.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has recommended that the Chinese government "allow an independent expert to visit and confirm the well-being" of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the boy the Dalai Lama recognized as the Panchen Lama in 1995, in Concluding Observations of a report published on September 30. The UNCRC, a part of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, also urges Chinese authorities to "take all necessary measures to ensure the full implementation" of its Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law, and to respect the religious freedom of Tibetan children by allowing them to choose to receive a religious education, to participate in religious festivals, and to choose whether or not to attend classes on atheism.

After the Dalai Lama announced his recognition of Gedun Choekyi Nyima in 1995, Chinese security officials took the then- six year old boy and his parents into custody and have kept them incommunicado since that time. The State Council declared the Dalai Lama’s announcement "illegal and invalid" and installed another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, as Panchen Lama. The U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004 reports that Chinese officials claim that Gedun Choekyi Nyima is not detained, but is a "normal schoolboy" who is "under government supervision, at an undisclosed location, for his own protection." The UNCRC recommendation includes an assurance that an independent expert visiting the family would respect their right to privacy.

This UNCRC report on China is the second since 1996; the earlier report did not address the case of Gedun Choekyi Nyima. The current report asks the Chinese government to provide its next report to the UNCRC in March 2009.

Additional information about the Panchen Lama issue and religious freedom for Tibetan Buddhists is available in the CECC 2005 Annual Report.