The following is the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC)'s statement made at the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues 11th Session in Geneva on November 29, 2018:

Mr. Chair, distinguished members of the Forum,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to raise our concerns and issues on the human rights condition of the Mongolian people in China.

 

As the main theme of this Forum is “statelessness”, here I would like to raise the following specific issues in regard to statelessness affecting the Mongolian people in China:

 

First is China’s criminalization of Mongolian dissidents in exile and exile community in general. Due to China’s increasingly oppressive policies toward Mongolian dissidents, writers, activists and even ordinary herders, thousands of Mongolians have gone in exile in many countries, in particular in the neighboring independent country of Mongolia. Pressured by China, the Government of Mongolia has no choice but to deport many of them back to China. For instance, in the case of Mr. Batzangaa, China even sent her police to Mongolia to carry out the arrest right in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee Office in the independent country’s capital city Ulaanbaatar, not only disrespecting the sovereignty of Mongolia, but also violating the international law. Mr. Batzangaa and his family members were deported back to China and he was thrown into jail. Two other exiles Mr. Dalaibaatar and Mr. Tulguur were also deported back to China from Mongolia under the similar circumstances. Many other exiles are still facing similar threats in Mongolia due to China’s mounting pressure on the Government of Mongolia.

 

Second is the status of what I call the “internal statelessness” or de facto second-class citizen status of the Mongolian people in China.

 

Not only are the Mongolian people denied the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, but also their very survival as distinct people is threatened by the Chinese. Mongolians like Mr. Hada who demanded a genuine autonomy as guaranteed by the Chinese Constitutions was imprisoned and placed under indefinite house arrest; nomadic way of life, the very foundation of Mongolian culture and identify, has completely been eradicated; grassland, the cradle of nomadic civilization, is turned into mining pits; Mongolian schools at rural levels are either eliminated or converted to Chinese ones; Mongolians who defended their land and rights are arrested, detained and sent to jail.

China is a signatory to multiple UN human rights treaties, conventions and other important international agreements. As a mature member of UN, China must abide by the rules and regulations as any other member state. It is UN’s duty to hold the Government of China accountable for its gross violations of human rights of the Mongolian peoples as well as other citizens of China.

Thank you.

In response to the SMHRIC statement, the Government Delegate of China made the following statement at the UN Forum on Minority Issues 11th Session:

Chinese Delegate:

Madam Chairperson, at present, the international community attaches great importance to statelessness, a problem as a result of conflicts, warfare and poverty and many other factors. All parties should enhance international cooperation to eliminate, reduce and eliminate the phenomena. The Chinese Government manages citizenship and nationality in accordance with law and protects all legitimate rights of its citizens. China also looks forward to the relevant panels discussing and producing meaningful ideas about tackling this problem. Unfortunately, despite the Chairperson's repeated emphasis on the relevance of discussions, the above organization (referring to SMHRIC) disregarded the role and made an unfounded accusation of the human rights issues in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and China in general. China expresses its strong protest. China upholds the guiding principle of people-centric approach to guarantee all kinds of rights of all citizens. At present, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region enjoys peace and stability with tremendous achievement in human rights programs. The remarks of the organization distorts facts and deliberately incites confrontation because they have a speakable hidden political agenda. The organization publicly advocates separating China, which is a serious violation of the purposes and principles of the U.N. charter. China is firmly against that. China hopes all parties can recognize this organization's separatist political agenda and evil intention.

Thank you Madam Chairperson.
 

[Original statement in Chinese]

主席女士，

当前国际社会高度关注无国籍问题。冲突，战乱，贫困等很多因素都可能导致无国籍问题。各方以加强国际合作共同致力于减少和消除这一现象。中国政府依法管理公民国籍问题，保障公民的各项合法权利。中方也很期待有关panel能够就导致无国籍根源问题提出有意思路。令人遗憾的是，尽管主席女士刚才反复强调发言主题应与无国籍问题有关，有关组织还是不顾规则，发言对中国内蒙古自治区和中国人权状况无端指责。中方表示坚决反对。中国坚持人民为中心发展思想，保障民众各项权利。当前内蒙古自治区安宁稳定，人权事业取得巨大成就。有关组织发言，顽固事实，故意挑起对抗。因为他们有着不可告人的政治目的。其所在的组织公开宣扬分裂中国。这严重违反了联合国宪章宗旨和原则。中方对此坚决反对。中方希望各方认清这些组织的分裂主义政治图谋和邪恶用心。

谢谢主席女士!