Tibet’s Human Rights Conditions Remain Severe, According to US State Department

The U.S. State Department’s 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices paints a grim picture of the human rights situation in Tibet, citing widespread violations including enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, restrictions on religious freedom, and transnational repression of Tibetans abroad. According to the report, published on 13 August 2025, there were “no significant changes” in the overall situation compared to previous years. Credible accounts documented torture, degrading treatment, censorship, and severe limitations on freedom of expression, religion, and assembly.

The government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the report states, did not take meaningful steps to hold officials accountable for abuses.

Suppression of Free Expression

The report highlights strict controls on free speech, particularly around the expression of Tibetan cultural and religious identity. Tibetans who criticised the government’s assimilationist policies—especially regarding His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama, and Tibetan-language education—faced harassment, surveillance, and detention. For instance, a 26-year-old Tibetan monk, whose name was withheld for security reasons, was detained without a warrant after he allegedly posted a comment on a WeChat post critical of County law, which prompted a 10-day political “education campaign” for around 100 monks at his monastery.

Chinese authorities also tightly restricted foreign and domestic media access. Journalists required special permits, which were rarely granted, and those who were allowed in faced surveillance and intimidation. Tibetan writers and bloggers risked arrest, loss of employment, or denial of government services if their work was deemed politically sensitive.

Targeting of Tibetan Activists and Religious Practitioners

Environmental activist Tsogon Tsering was sentenced to eight months in prison after he publicly accused a Chinese construction company of illegal mining activities. The report also noted the death of monk Losel in detention after he was allegedly subjected to inhuman torture and denial of medical care which led to his death in prison. Chinese authorities intensified bans on possession of images of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and imposed restrictions on online religious expressions, including holding prayer sessions and religious gatherings. Surveillance extended to travellers, who were interrogated for carrying photographs or communicating about religious figures.

Censorship and Information Control

The report mentioned that Chinese authorities continued to impose sweeping restrictions on Tibetans’ freedom of expression in Tibet, tightly controlling media, education, and cultural expression. “The government completely controlled schools’ curricula, textbooks, and other course materials as well as the publication of historically or politically sensitive academic books,” it says.

In July, Radio Free Asia reported intensified surveillance: officials stopped travellers between Lhasa and Shigatse to check for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s photographs and banned communication with people outside Tibet on his birthday. The “TAR” Internet and Information Office strictly monitored social media, while authorities disrupted RFA Tibetan- and Mandarin-language services in Tibetan areas, as well as those of the Voice of Tibet, an independent radio station based in Norway, the report says.

Furthermore, in 2023, Chinese authorities tightened restrictions on Tibetan religious expression by enforcing a regulation that effectively banned monks and writers from sharing religious content online, while also prohibiting unlicensed online religious activities and broadcasts. Tibetans in monastic attire also faced heightened police scrutiny at checkpoints, airports, and other travel hubs.

Enforced Disappearances, Abductions and Arbitrary Detention

Report documented China’s continued use of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention against Tibetans, in violation of basic human rights protections. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) reported 63 cases of enforced disappearances in the past four years, warning that the true figure is likely higher due to underreporting caused by fear of reprisals. One notable case was that of Pema, a monk from Kirti Monastery in Tibet’s Amdo Province, who was arrested in April 2024 after staging a solo protest with a portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; authorities never confirmed his detention or revealed his whereabouts. In September 2024, four Tibetans, including two monks from Kirti Monastery, were detained incommunicado with no information about their status. China continues to hide any credible information on the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, for 30 years since his abduction in 1995. The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts also expressed concern over nine Tibetan environmental activists arrested between 2013 and 2018, including A-Nya Sengdra and Dorjee Daktal, noting the lack of transparency on their trials, sentencing, or access to legal and medical assistance.

Torture and Inhumane Treatment of Tibetans

Despite laws prohibiting it, Chinese authorities continued to subject Tibetan detainees and prisoners to torture, degrading treatment, and forced labor. Reports highlighted long-term isolation, deprivation of food, sleep, and sunlight, and psychological abuses such as forced re-education. In November, Tibet Times reported that Losel, a monk from Sera Thekchen Ling Monastery, died in prison after severe beatings and denial of medical care. Other released prisoners described permanent disabilities and lasting health damage from harsh detention conditions. Impunity remained widespread, with no accountability for unlawful killings or past abuses.

Transnational Repression

According to the report, Chinese authorities engaged in extensive transnational repression targeting Tibetans living abroad, including the roughly 150,000 in India and Nepal. The report highlighted patterns of harassment, surveillance, and coercion against the Tibetan diaspora, including cyberattacks on Tibetan institutions, forced disclosure of family information at Chinese consulates, and intimidation of relatives in Tibet to silence activism overseas. TCHRD documented an escalation in these tactics between mid-2022 and late 2023, including efforts to sever family ties, infiltrate diaspora networks, and spread disinformation. Authorities also restricted Tibetans’ mobility by delaying or denying passports, confiscating valid ones, and threatening families if travellers spoke out abroad.

Forced Labour and Economic Exploitation

The report also raised concerns over China’s labour programs that transferred rural Tibetans into work schemes under the guise of poverty alleviation. A July study by Human Rights Foundation cited risks of forced labour in the mining sector, echoing broader international concerns.

Conclusion

The human rights situation in Tibet continues to deteriorate each year, with growing numbers of Tibetans unjustly arrested and imprisoned simply for expressing their identity through religion, culture, and language. These freedoms are guaranteed under international human rights law and even within China’s own Constitution, yet they are systematically denied as part of a broader campaign to suppress and assimilate Tibetan identity. New policies and directives have been introduced that effectively criminalise the expression of Tibetan identity, providing a legal façade to punish Tibetans for simply being who they are.

The 2024 report documented extrajudicial killings and highlighted the persistence of widespread impunity and lack of accountability. The U.S. State Department ultimately concluded that human rights conditions in Tibet remain harshly repressive, with little sign of meaningful progress.