On 1 February 2012, the International Campaign for Tibet handed over a petition on Tibet signed by 677,569 individuals to representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS). The petition is sponsored by Avaaz, a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making around the world.
ICT’s Executive Director Tsering Jampa, EU Policy Director Vincent Metten and EU Policy and Advocacy Officer Paola Trevisan were invited to the EEAS Charlemagne building in Brussels, Belgium by Mr. Gerhard Sabathil, Director for Asia, and Mr. Rolf Timans, Head of the Human Rights Unit, to hand over the Tibet petition and discuss the current crisis in Tibet.
The Avaaz petition calls on government leaders around the world to investigate and pressure the government of China to stop the crackdown in Tibet. Since February 2009, a rising number of Tibetans have taken their lives through self-immolation in a direct challenge to Chinese policies that withhold freedoms from Tibetans and deny them access to their national and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
The International Campaign for Tibet is urging China (1) to give access to Tibet to foreign media and independent experts, such as Special Procedures mandate-holders of the UN Human Rights Council, in order to independently assess the situation on the ground, and (2) to re-engage with envoys of the Dalai Lama in direct dialogue in order to reach a mutually agreed upon solution for Tibet.
The petition is still open to signatures. You can add your name and help to reach 1,000,000 signatures by clicking on http://tinyurl.com/73x6qqu.