FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4 March 2021
Contact:
Pema Doma | +1-617-792-3606 | PemaDoma@StudentsforaFreeTibet.org
FREEDOM HOUSE RANKS TIBET LAST PLACE IN THEIR ANNUAL “FREEDOM IN THE WORLD REPORT”
NEW YORK, March 4th—Yesterday, Freedom House, the renowned independent research NGO, released their annual rankings of civil and political rights of countries and territories around the world. For the last 5 years, Tibet has been ranked 2nd or 3rd “least free” among a list of more than 200 countries and territories. In 2021, in response to the worsening state of freedom, Tibet is now ranked as the “least free” country in the world, tied with Syria.
Freedom House’s report comes as Tibet activists are gearing up their efforts to push for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The announcement that Tibet is now the least free country in the world, along with the classification of the Uyghur crisis as a genocide in three nations, bolsters claims from human rights activists that the International Olympic Committee has a responsbility to cancel or relocate the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
“The human rights situation and political crisis in Tibet has been deteriorating at a rapid rate. Despite the worsening conditions and state of freedom for Tibetans living under Chinese occupation, multilateral institutions like the UN Human Rights Council and the International Olympic Committee continue to welcome China with open arms. Private corporations like Apple, the world’s largest company, continue to vie for China’s favor at the expense of sound human rights practices. It is 2021, and Tibet has escalated to the top of the “least free” list; world leaders and the international community must use this report as a wake up call.”
SFT Campaigns Director, Pema Doma