Amnesty International called on the People's Republic of China July 2 to halt its attempts to control the selection process for the future Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader. Amnesty's China director, Sarah Brooks, said: "The Chinese authorities must immediately end political interference in Tibetan religious practices and cease using religious succession as a tool for control and coercion."

Brooks charged that China has long sought to control the selection of the future Dalai Lama through the establishment of national regulations that restrict Tibetans' right to freedom of religion and violate Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. She especially criticized the Measures on the Management of Reincarnation of Living Buddhas, and accused Chinese authorities of being responsible for the 1995 forced disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama.

The Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas is a national Chinese law approved in 2007 that officially recognized the Buddhist reincarnation system, a method of succession in Tibetan tradition. This marked the culmination of a long history of attempts to legislate the reincarnation of living Buddhas dating back to the 18th century. The law outlines rules and procedures governing the succession of Living Buddhas. Article 9 specifies that the reincarnation of Living Buddhas must be approved by various central government departments, such as the State Administration for Religious Affairs and the State Council.

Amnesty International's statement follows the current 14th Dalai Lama's announcement that his successor will be reincarnated and that the Gaden Phodrang Trust is the only entity authorized to recognize his future reincarnation. In response, the Chinese government insisted that the reincarnation of the Tibetan Buddhist leader must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn and receive approval from the central government, in accordance with what it calls long-standing historical conventions.

Tibet has been an incorporated region of the People's Republic of China since 1951, but an independence movement has emerged among the Tibetan diaspora, advocating for separation from China.

The European Union and the United States have expressed concern over charges of human rights violations committed by Chinese authorities against Tibetans. In 2024, the US president signed a bill recognizing Tibet's religious, cultural and historical identity separate from that of the Chinese people. In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that the bill constituted interference in China's internal affairs and violated the basic norms governing international relations.

In March 2025, the Chinese government published its own report on the human rights situation in Tibet, boasting major improvements in the region related to social and political rights, as well as religious freedom. In the same report, the government emphasized that protecting human rights requires maintaining security and national unity, asserting that it has made significant efforts to strengthen solidarity among all ethnic groups to counter separatist activities that threaten national security.

From JURIST, July 2. Used with permission.

Notes: The Dalai Lama stepped down as leader of the Tibetan exile government in 2011, while remaining spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, effectively instating a secular transition. In the surreal "reincarnation wars" between Beijing and the Tibetan exile government in Dharamshala, India, it is the officially atheist Chinese state that is appealing to Buddhist fundamentalism, while the Dalai Lama is moving toward modernity and now says he embraces Marxism.