On June 16, 2025, as the United Nations Human Rights Council convened its 59th session, a multi-group joint protest rally was held in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The event, hosted by the Tibetan Community in Switzerland & Liechtenstein (TCSL), aimed to call on the CCP to end its tyranny.
Ms. Thinley Chukki, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; the TCSL president and executive committee members; and members of local Tibetan non-governmental organizations attended and spoke at the event. Representatives from the Association for the Defense of Human Rights and Religious Freedom (ADHRRF) and a number of Chinese Christians also participated in the rally.
In her speech, Ms. Thinley Chukki pointed out that the Chinese government’s religious persecution of groups including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Christians, and Muslims has continued to intensify, not only within China but also through transnational repression. She emphasized that the protest’s sole demand is to end the CCP’s tyranny and hold China accountable for its human rights abuses in Tibet and throughout the nation.
Also in attendance were over 30 Christians who had suffered persecution in China for their faith, more than 20 of whom are from The Church of Almighty God (CAG). They held up banners reading, “Stop Genocide!”, “Stop Cultural Genocide!”, “Say ‘No’ to Persecution,” and “We Want Our Human Rights!” to show their support for the protest.
One Chinese Christian stated in a speech, “We gather here today because we know deeply: as long as the dictatorship is not eliminated, there will be no peace for human rights. This is true for Tibetans, for Uyghurs, and for Christians in China’s house churches.”
Han Guanglei, a CAG Christian, said in an interview, “In China, there is no religious freedom whatsoever; you have to be on edge just to pray at home. China is filled with surveillance and monitoring devices, and if you believe in God, you can be reported at any moment. Many brothers and sisters I know have been arrested and sentenced, and some have been beaten to death by the police. Even now that we’ve fled to Switzerland, the CCP is still monitoring us. One brother was recognized by CCP police for attending a human rights event, and the police went to his family’s home in China to intimidate his parents. They pressured his parents to tell him to stop attending these activities, threatening to cancel their pensions if he refuses to. As long as the CCP’s dictatorship and tyranny don’t end, we will never be at peace.”
Drongpatsang Ngedun Gyatso, the TCSL president, said in an interview, “We hope to draw the international community’s attention to the issue of Tibet, including our advocacy and our demands. We are doing this because the situation in Tibet has severely worsened in recent years. We are facing grave issues such as cultural genocide, restricted religious freedom, and the absence of free speech.”
The protest concluded at 2 p.m. local time. Organizers stated they will continue to initiate similar activities in the future to raise awareness of human rights issues across society.
