Publications

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Racial Discrimination in Tibet (2000)

Discrimination in Housing

Introduction

According to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),

"...Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including... housing."

Though not enshrined within its constitution, the Chinese government admitted during the preparatory meetings for the 1996 UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) that "housing is a basic need for the life of human beings" and that "adequate housing is a basic human right." However, Tibetans are finding themselves increasingly marginalised in the housing sphere, which is now dominated by the huge numbers of Chinese immigrants entering Tibet as part of government population transfer. Urban centres have undergone massive architectural transformation, and are today almost identical in many ways to cities in interior China. Families, streets and sometimes whole neighbourhoods have been uprooted in the rush to accommodate the constant influx of Chinese settlers, with the result that many Tibetans now live under fear of eviction, demolition and homelessness.

In 1993, in addition to the demolition of nine significant buildings in central Lhasa, a minimum of 100 families (approx. 500-700 people) were evicted from the 17th century Tibetan neighbourhood of Shol, directly below the south face of the Potala Palace. Tibetans also face discrimination within the housing allocation process, and are restricted from offering their opinion on housing policies that directly affect their welfare. This is not simply the result of corruption on a personal level, but rather the result of official regulations drawn up by the Chinese authorities. As the International Non-Governmental Organisation Habitat International Coalition reported,

"Housing rights of Tibetans living in Tibet are systematically infringed by the Chinese government and its authorities. The violation of housing rights are not isolated instances, but rather the result of policies and laws which comprehensively discriminate against the Tibetan people."

All in all, assertions in Chinese White Papers that the standard of living for all Tibetans has improved, do not ring true in practice.