Tibetan activists and supporters gathered outside the Chinese Consulate in London holding a photo of Rinchen Kyi, to mark the Intl. Day of the Disappeared. Photo: File

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Dharamshala, India — On the 38th International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Tibetans remember all victims of enforced disappearances in Tibet and call on China to release all Tibetan political prisoners who have suffered under Chinese unjust laws.

On this International Day of the Disappeared, August 30, 2021, Tibetans from India to Europe are honoring and remembering the Tibetan martyrs and political prisoners who were tortured and disappeared by the Chinese government after protesting for the Tibetan cause.

On this day, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy(TCHRD) calls on China to ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The human rights organization said, “China tops the list of state​s​ that need to sign and ratify this crucial international human rights instrument. Article 73 and Article 83 of the Criminal Procedure Law, enable enforced disappearance and therefore must be replaced with internationally acceptable procedural safeguards for suspects of endangering state security and terrorism.”

TCHRD said it has recorded nearly 40 known cases of enforced disappearances in the past three years, despite a severe information blackout." We demand that China release all Tibetan dissidents who have been subjected to enforced disappearance and inform their families of their whereabouts and circumstances," it said.

On this International Day of the Disappeared, the Central Tibetan Women's Association made a poster campaign to honor and remember those Tibetan martyrs and political prisoners who were disappeared by the Chinese government after protesting for the Tibetan cause.

Tibetan activists and Tibetan supporters from the UK gathered outside the Chinese Consulate in London holding a photo of Rinchen Kyi, a Tibetan language teacher who disappeared after being arrested by Chinese authorities in August 2021, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 21, 2010.

“Enforced disappearance deprives families and communities of the right to know the truth about their loved ones, of accountability, justice, and reparation. The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the agony and anguish of enforced disappearance, by limiting capacities to search for missing persons and investigate alleged enforced disappearance,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General on August 30, 2021.

“The Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearances is indispensable in helping to tackle this cowardly practice. But it requires the will and commitment of those with the power to do so,” said, the UN Chief.

“States must fulfil their obligations to prevent enforced disappearance, to search for the victims, and to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators,” he said.

“On this International Day, I reiterate my call to all States to ratify the Convention and to work with the United Nations Committee and Working Group on Enforced Disappearances. Together, we can and we must end all enforced disappearances,” the Secretary-General said.