Tibet has long been a region of concern for human rights advocates since the loss of its status as an independent state in 1951 and its takeover by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As an ethnic minority within the PRC, Tibetans have, for the most part, continued to maintain robust and distinct cultural, religious, and linguistic traditions. However, these traditions are under increasing threat from assimilationist policies imposed on the region by the Government of the PRC. Recently, new information regarding structured assimilation through the residential school system in Tibet has raised concerns in the international community of serious human rights violations.

In response to this growing international concern, the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development held a study on the residential school system in Tibet. Over the course of two meetings, the Subcommittee heard from eight witnesses, including Tibetan rights activists, academics and human rights experts.

Witnesses described how the PRC is exerting increasing control in Tibet through policies of sinicization that are targeting areas such as religion, the traditional Tibetan nomadic lifestyle and language. Testimony suggested that this is symptomatic of a larger PRC agenda that violates minority rights in Tibet and across the country. Language is being most clearly targeted by means of the education system in Tibet, where the government is expanding the residential school system to include preschool-aged students and enrolling a growing number of Tibetan students. Local options for schooling in Tibet have been systematically shuttered, while the residential schools have phased out Tibetan language instruction and Tibetan-produced curriculum materials in favour of those employing Han Chinese language and cultural resources and teachers.

Drawing on this witness testimony, this report sets out 18 recommendations. The first seek to call out the PRC government in various international fora for violations of the rights of Tibetans, support internationally-led investigations and sanction the PRC officials responsible for these violations. The Subcommittee also recommends that the Government of Canada take measures to protect activists and researchers from harassment and intimidation by welcoming Tibetan activists and their families as refugees to Canada, and protecting those already here with a foreign agent registry. Other recommendations include advocating for independent academic research in Tibet and supporting measures to preserve Tibetan language and culture.