The Subcommittee on International Human Rights (SDIR) met on June 8, 2026, to study the situation of Tibetan children in Chinese state-run boarding schools. Witnesses were Tencho Gyatso, President of the International Campaign for Tibet; Lhadon Tethong, Co-Founder and Director of the Tibet Action Institute; Gyal Lo, Tibet Specialist and Educational Sociologist at the Tibet Action Institute; Tenzin Choekyi, Senior Researcher at Tibet Watch; and Chemi Lhamo, a Tibetan-Canadian human rights activist appearing as an individual.
Tencho Gyatso highlighted that China will bring into force a new "ethnic unity and progress law" on July 1, 2026, which he said subordinates the Tibetan language to Chinese and permits cultural expression only when it serves party ideology. He noted that nearly one million Tibetan children, roughly four out of five between ages six and 18, are in state-run boarding schools, and he described recently released images of Tibetan kindergarten children in military camouflage participating in simulated combat exercises. He recommended that Canada and allies coordinate to pressure China, particularly during its upcoming UN review on children's rights.
Lhadon Tethong presented findings from a second report revealing new evidence of serious abuse and neglect in the boarding schools, including children being beaten for wearing Buddhist protection cords, children becoming deaf from repeated blows, and multiple cases of suicide and attempted suicide. She described the system as an "existential threat for Tibetans" and said the Canadian former UN special rapporteur on minority issues used the words "cultural genocide." She recommended that Canada investigate sanctions and visa restrictions on Chinese officials designing or implementing these policies, and work with like-minded governments to pressure Beijing to abolish the boarding school system.
Gyal Lo shared a personal account of his two grandnieces who, after three months in a colonial boarding preschool, became "strangers at home," losing the ability to engage emotionally with family. He explained that since 2018, China has shifted from promoting ethnic diversity to a "monolingual, monocultural, mono-ethnic" framework, and that preschoolers are now being used to spy on their parents regarding mother tongue use at home. He stated that if the policy continues, within 15 to 20 years children socialized in these schools will not want to practice Tibetan language and culture, leading to the erasure of Tibetan identity.
Tenzin Choekyi reported that the situation has deteriorated significantly since the last hearing, with a ban on even optional Tibetan language classes in Kardze prefecture since September 2023, and plans to abolish separate Tibetan studies departments in universities by merging them with other ethnic groups. He described a pilot program deploying veterans in kindergartens in Nagqu for "red education" and national defence drills, and noted that nearly 80 young monks were locked up for two months in Dzorge county for "thought transformation." He urged the committee to support a motion honouring April 30 as Tibetan language day, a date reflecting the four vowels and thirty letters in Tibetan.
Chemi Lhamo described the reality of six-year-old children in boarding schools facing a 12-hour schedule, separation from family, and a ban on speaking their mother tongue or engaging in religious practice, with parents harassed or imprisoned if they refuse to send their children. She criticized the Canadian government for back-seating human rights in recent dealings with China, calling this strategy "short-sighted and flawed," and warned that subordinating security and human rights to commercial gain exposes citizens to foreign interference. She recommended that Canada condemn the boarding schools in the upcoming G7 leader statement and issue a committee report ahead of China's UN children's rights review calling for the schools to be abolished.
During questioning, witnesses agreed that the schools are not optional and that the goal is to eliminate Tibetan identity. Gyal Lo stated that the schools target children as young as four to six years old to rebuild their psychological foundation on a Chinese cultural basis. Lhadon Tethong said that while Tibet faces damage, it is not beyond repair, and that the Chinese government's ultimate aim is to eliminate Tibetan, Uyghur and southern Mongolian identities. Chemi Lhamo noted that the international community has been positive in response but remains silent, and that China feels emboldened to extend repression to Tibetan Canadians.
The committee did not debate any motions or procedural matters during this meeting.
AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.