The Human Rights Council (the Council) held an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Mr Olivier De Schutter (Belgium) on 6 March.

Mr De Schutter criticised the policy of forcibly resettling nomadic herders and said that this policy, in relation to herders in Tibet in particular, raised ‘legitimate and important concerns’.

Mr De Schutter’s concluding comments on the policy of forcibly resettling nomadic herders followed statements made by Human Rights Watch and the Helsinki Foundation in which they called for an end to the non-voluntary relocation of nomads until consultations could take place with the parties as the nomads were finding themselves often ‘worse off’ in relation to access to food.  Mr De Schutter also drew to the Council’s attention that since March 2011, there had been 25 self immolations in Tibet against the land resettlement policies of which 18 had been herders forcibly resettled in collective villages.
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GUOLUO, China — Tibetan herder Gatou used to live a nomadic life on the grasslands of the Tibetan plateau before he was rehoused under a controversial Chinese government scheme.

Now he inhabits one of scores of small brick houses that have sprung up in incongruously neat rows in the rugged and mountainous terrain of the Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China.

“They are giving us houses for free, with electricity,” Gatou, who like many Tibetans only goes by one name, told AFP at a prayer festival he has organised for his community, his brown eyes beaming from a dark tanned face.

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Tsering Kyi had witnessed the erosion of her family’s way of life and the repression of her fellow students’ protests. Last month she doused herself in five litres of petrol and set herself alight.

March 6, 2012 – Mr. Kai Müller, Executive Director International Campaign for Tibet-Germany speaking on Tibet for the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Clustered Interactive Dialogue with: – The Special Rapporteur on the right to food and – The Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, 19th meeting 19th Session of the Human Rights Council.

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States (presently including the People’s Republic of China) responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. The Council meets three times a year in Geneva, and the 19th session runs from 27 February until 23 March 2012.

Special Procedures of the Council address specific country situations or thematic issues. Most Special Procedures receive information on specific allegations of human rights violations (including from ICT) and send urgent appeals or letters of allegation to governments asking for clarification. In this context, NGOs can be given an opportunity to address topics covered by the Special Procedures during its regular sessions.

Read Mr. Mueller’s oral statement:

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BODH GAYA, January 4: In a rare meeting with his own people from across the Himalayas, Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama yesterday offered advice and suggestions to counter the many social and environmental problems plaguing Tibet. Around 8000 Tibetans from Tibet are attending the ten-day Kalachakra teachings in Bodh Gaya.

At a special audience, the Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile since he was forced to flee his country in 1959, urged his people to plant trees around their houses and monasteries in Tibet. The Dalai Lama also spoke out on nomad rights,  “Instead of forcefully resettling them, building of hospitals and schools for the nomads around their grazing areas would be more constructive,” the Dalai Lama said.

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