October 2005
Presentation by the European Editor of the International Campaign for Tibet.
On 30 September the 40th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) called upon the Chinese authorities to allow an independent body to verify the fate of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 16-year-old Panchen Lama of Tibet. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents following their abduction on 17 May 1995 and the International Campaign for Tibet, in cooperation with other human rights groups, has intensified its campaign for an independent body to verify Chinese claims that the child is healthy and not being held in detention.
While adopting its Concluding Observations on the second periodic report of the People's Republic of China, the CRC said that it noted the information provided about Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, but remained concerned that it had not yet been possible to have this information confirmed by an independent expert. The CRC asked that the Chinese authorities "allow an independent expert to visit and confirm the well-being of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima while respecting his right to privacy, and that of his parents."
