Tibet Appeal
The next step forward for TibetIf you would prefer to donate via direct deposit, please see bank details below:
Account name: Australia Tibet Council
BSB: 063 147
Account number: 1001 0643
(Please make sure to include ‘MYA24’ & your name in the reference)
Be a part of the change – Ensure Australia stands on the right side of history
Two steps forward for Tibet, one step back – that is what 2024 has felt like so far.
In January, with pressure from ATC, the Australian Government made a strong submission to the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review of human rights in China. A step forward for Tibet.
In March, I accompanied a bipartisan Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Dharamsala, where Senator Dean Smith, Senator Deborah O’Neill, Michael McCormack MP and David Smith MP were moved by His Holiness’ message of peace. Another step forward for Tibet.
Then the Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Australia in June and, although our protest had great media coverage, the focus of the Australian Government and media was fixed on trade … and pandas. Human rights were shoved to the side with barely a mention from the Prime Minister or Foreign Minister. An unfortunate step back.
We are hearing there are plans for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Australia later this year.
We know what to expect – a fancy formal welcome for Xi in Canberra, and a very aggressive, red-flag waving, pro-CCP ‘rent-a-crowd’ attempting to block, harass and even assault members of Australia’s Tibetan communities and Tibet supporters standing up to voice their concerns about human rights in Tibet.
This is a crucial time, we need your support to ensure more Australian parliamentarians have the facts about life for Tibetans under Chinese occupation and are willing to stand up for Tibet.
Please know that every dollar makes a difference to our work. Whether it is $50 or $500, your donation is contributing to ending the occupation and oppression in Tibet.
We need more Australian parliamentarians to know about China’s system of state run boarding schools which is forcing one million Tibetan children, including children as young as 4 years old, to live away from their families in psychologically damaging institutions designed to systematically erode the children’s Tibetan identity and culture.
We need them to know about the Chinese government’s policies of occupation and oppression — which are attempting to tear down Tibet’s culture, religion, environment, and the universal human rights of its people.
We need Australian parliamentarians to acknowledge Tibet’s unresolved status as an occupied nation and condemn China for its ongoing violations of the Tibetan people’s right to self- determination.
And we need your help to push the Foreign Minister to use diplomatic measures, such as Magnitsky sanctions, to try to stop CCP officials from abusing Tibetans.
China is emboldened by silence. In trade talks they want human rights issues put ‘on the shelf’, i.e. off the table. China continues its human rights abuses in Tibet with impunity because there isn’t coordinated international action against them.
The US have sanctioned Chinese officials for their human rights abuses against Tibetans. Australia can and should join them. It is a crucial next step to keep China accountable.
You can make a difference to our ability to build a groundswell of public and parliamentary support to ensure that the human rights abuses in Tibet do not go unpunished.
By continuing to protest China’s occupation, Tibetans have proven that the spirit of Tibetan people is strong and will outlast the Chinese Communist Party. Your support strengthens the resolve of us at ATC and allows us to continue to work until Tibet is free.
A Duty to Act
The truth about Tibet’s historical independence has often been ceded as collateral in the West’s attempts to win economic favours from an ever-growing China. The Communist government of China has since used international acknowledgement as recognition of Tibet being a part of China. Countries that do so therefore themselves, break international laws surrounding the support of illegal occupation and annexation – such is the frailty of international laws.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong in a Senate estimates in May 2024, stated her commitment to multilateral forums such as the UN, she said “I for one think that is it is critical as a country committed to multilateralism and the notion of universal principles that we actually do use those to articulate these principles”.
What this approach has meant is that the Labor Government has often chosen making statements in the UN as their primary form of advocacy for human rights when it comes to China.
In a UN periodic review of China’s human rights this year, Australia and many other countries raised concerns on issues identified by UN specialists themselves. China recently rejected those claims as being based on false information. Countries were allowed to make a refutation, however the process seemingly leads to a dead-end.
Australia Tibet Council supports the use of international forums to pressure China with numbers, however with a clear sense of its shortcomings we’ve lobbied the Foreign Minister and Parliament to utilise accountable bilateral processes and sanctions as other means.
It is time for Australia to look elsewhere to shape the world for the better. A time to reconsider its approach when defending its values of democracy and human rights. Support the Tibet Appeal to advance our push for the need to sanction the Chinese officials curtailing civil liberties and for their heinous crimes against humanity such as stripping over a million Tibetan children from their families, language and culture.
The same commitment described by the Foreign Minister would allow Australia to uphold its duty to act. To reject Tibet’s annexation and illegal occupation of Tibet and uphold international laws to defend self-determination of Tibetans.
Support Australia Tibet Council’s Tibet Appeal to remind the Australian Government of their duties as a democratic power of the free world.
The next step forward for Tibet involves Australia proving its commitment to human rights, rejecting misinformation about historical facts and completing its duty to act.
Learn more about our work
Not On Our Watch – Cultural Genocide in Tibet
Australia cannot stand idle and risk a future Stolen Generation of Tibetan children, ATC will act to ensure this issue is front and centre for Australian parliamentarians and not ignored as China seeks to resume trade and other relations with Australia.
Protecting Tibetan Religious Identity
Calling for a commitment that Australian leaders will only recognise the future reincarnation of the Dalai Lama as chosen by Tibetans, under the principles of Tibetan Buddhism and traditional methodology.
Political Advocacy
We drive global support for the Tibet movement by lobbying Australian parliamentarians. We ensure our decision makers get accurate information and take a principled stand on Tibet.