Photo: TYC Facebook
The First International Conference Building Freedom, Democracy and Peace in Asia took place from May 11 – 12 at the India International Centre in New Delhi, resulting in a unified agreement by attendees that universal human rights and freedoms are under threat across Asia and that immediate action is necessary to stop destructive policies and oppressive regimes that are negatively impacting Tibet and the larger region.
The conference, organised by the Tibetan Youth Congress, brought together delegates from Tibet, Vietnam, Hong Kong, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Japan, Philippines, Southern Mongolia, Taiwan and Thailand.
A joint statement was released after the conference saying that constructive strategies has been formed, including a call to the Government of China to “ensure freedom, human rights and self-determination for the people of Tibet, Southern Mongolia, Hong Kong” and also to “stop their aggressive policies that are expansionist and interfering in nature on neighboring countries like Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Myanmar.”
Delegates also agreed that people and nations of Asia have an opportunity to be part of the solution by proactively voicing the need for equal human rights within their own countries.
Tenzing Jigme, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress, reflected, “This is a good first step. The concern regarding China’s expansionist policies are real and all the participants recognised the need for us to work together in order to overcome the challenges we face. The hope is to build upon the ideas and strategies laid out during the conference to ensure that rights of all people are respected.”
The conference aligns with milestone birthdays of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Conference on Human Rights.
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