Dharamshala — 151 Tibetan groups call on the Foreign Ministers of Argentina, Brazil,Canada,France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, UK, USA, Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to reject the China’s Assimilation Law. China’s new law marks a dangerous new escalation in Beijing’s campaign to erase the distinct identity of the Tibetan people. Behind the language of “unity” lies a powerful legal framework through which Tibetans can be punished for exercising fundamental rights.
The Tibet groups addressed to His Excellency Pablo Quirno Magrane, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina; Senator The Ho,. Penny Wong, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs; His Excellency Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil; The Hon. Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada; His Excellency Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France; His Excellency Dr. Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany; His Excellency Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India; His Excellency Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy; His Excellency Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan; His Excellency Roberto Velasco Álvarez, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico; Her Excellency Maria Malmer Stenergard, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden; The Rt Hon. Yvette Cooper MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom; The Hon. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States of America; Her Excellency Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
They wrote," As China’s “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress” enters into force on July 1, 2026, we, on behalf of a coalition of 151 Tibet groups and supporters worldwide, condemn this law as a direct assault on the fundamental rights, identity, and future of the Tibetan people."
The Tibet groups said, "China’s new law marks a dangerous new escalation in Beijing’s campaign to erase the distinct identity of the Tibetan people. Behind the language of “unity” lies a powerful legal framework through which Tibetans can be punished for exercising fundamental rights: speaking their language, practising their religion, preserving their culture, and peacefully expressing their identity. It is the codification of policies that strike at the heart of Tibetan survival as a distinct people."
"The law prioritises Mandarin Chinese in education and public life, mandates state-directed social integration, and expands penalties for alleged threats to “ethnic unity.” Article 20 of the law requires parents to educate children to “love the Communist Party of China” and prohibits the transmission of ideas deemed harmful to national unity. This grants Beijing unprecedented authority to regulate what Tibetan families teach their children about their history, culture, religion, and identity, while deepening systems of ideological control and social surveillance," they added.
"For years, China has implemented a vast colonial boarding school system that has removed at least one million Tibetan children from their families and communities. In these “schools,” Tibetan children are subjected to systematic cultural erasure. They are educated primarily in Chinese, denied meaningful access to their mother tongue, restricted from practising their religion, and subjected to intensive political indoctrination designed to reshape their identity and allegiance. Reports and broadcasts show Tibetan schoolchildren participating in military-style drills, patriotic ceremonies and “red education” programmes to cultivate loyalty to Xi Jinping, the Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army. Disturbing images show children dressed in military fatigues, marching in formation and receiving instruction from military veterans in schools and kindergartens," the 151 groups explained.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has sounded the alarm: “I am very concerned about China’s counterterrorism and assimilation policies, particularly as they affect minorities in the Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibetan regions. The new law on ethnic unity risks deepening restrictions on freedoms of language, education, practice of religion, culture, expression and assembly; and penalizing the peaceful exercise of minority rights in general. I call for the law to be repealed and for these practices to end.”
The 151 Tibetan organisations said, "Governments must now join this call for repeal. As your country’s Foreign Minister, you carry a moral, legal, and political responsibility to oppose a law that will accelerate the erosion of Tibetan language, culture, religion, and identity. Silence in the face of this assault on a people’s language, culture, religion, and identity will be remembered as acquiescence."
"Together, your governments are uniquely positioned to exercise strong and direct influence over China’s leadership. By acting in unison, you will not only strengthen your leverage with Beijing, but also ensure that participating governments are better protected against efforts to export authoritarian influence into our own democracies. We urge you to act now; collectively, decisively, and without delay," they said.
