The Chinese government continues to violate the basic human rights of Tibetans as provided by both the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and China’s own constitution. These include the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention.

Despite China’s assurance to the International Olympic Committee that the awarding of the Olympics to Beijing would bring about improvements in human rights, there is now robust evidence that the human rights situation in Tibet is deteriorating. In 2007, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported a three-fold increase in arbitrary arrests and detention since 2006.

In September 2006, Western mountaineers witnessed an unprovoked attack by Chinese border patrols on a group of 75 unarmed Tibetans fleeing Tibet for Nepal which resulted in the death of 17 year old nun Kelsang Namtso. In late 2007, Runggye Adak, a 52-year-old nomad, was sentenced to eight years in prison for simply calling publicly for the return of the Dalai Lama during the popular Lithang horse festival in Eastern Tibet.

China promised increased media freedoms ahead of the Beijing Olympics. However, major media watchdogs, including Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Newspapers, have reported increased restrictions on foreign media, intimidation of journalists and heightened internet censorship.