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Sep 5 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Chinese authorities in Tibet, “are literally taking blood without consent to strengthen their surveillance capabilities.”

- @SophieHRW on the bio-dystopian nightmare of mass DNA collection people are now undergoing in towns & villages throughout #Tibet Autonomous Region.

🧵
While the practice of taking blood samples for DNA collection is selective in other parts of China, it is widespread throughout the TAR.

It appears to be taking place in all seven of TAR’s prefectures or municipalities, not to mention in Xinjiang province, as well.
People cannot refuse, and the authorities don’t have to suspect any crime has been committed.

This is a mass round up of personal data that in fact includes some of the most innocent...
⚠️ Blood samples for DNA collection have been systematically taken from children at kindergartens, according to a report from Lhasa municipality.

⚠️ In a #Tibet township in Qinghai province, another report said DNA was being collected from all boys aged five and above.
Individual rights being violated here:

➡️ privacy,

➡️ dignity,

➡️ bodily integrity.

What’s more, forced DNA collection of an entire region or population on security grounds is a serious human rights violation: no way it can be justified as necessary or proportionate.
Of course, such mass DNA collection is but a horrifically logical extension of deepening mass surveillance in #Tibet in recent years and part of ongoing efforts by Chinese authorities to establish police presence at the grassroots level throughout the region.
Notable in particular has been the village-level “3 Greats” drive, requiring police to visit every household and question residents about their views.
As my colleague @SophieHRW says:

“3 real 'greats' for Tibetans would involve an immediate end to these chilling violations, and investigations and prosecutions of those responsible.”
Read the full story here: hrw.org/news/2022/09/0…

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More from @astroehlein

Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Sep 2
African diplomacy recently played a key role in lifting the blockade of Ukrainian grain – but some of the people in Africa most at risk of hunger may not benefit.

🧵...
For almost 2 years, #Ethiopia's government has put a chokehold on humanitarian aid to the country’s #Tigray region, leading to a severe starvation crisis.

This siege is in violation of Ethiopian domestic law, international human rights law, and international humanitarian law.
Of course, it’s not the only serious violation in the context of the war in Tigray.

Since November 2020, Ethiopian forces and their allies have pillaged and targeted homes and civilian infrastructure — businesses, hospitals, banks, livestock, and harvests.
Read 12 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Sep 2
We launched our new Daily Brief yesterday, a newsletter I'm authoring to look at human rights issues around the world.

I've been asking for your input. Ideas so far…

Online version here: hrw.org/the-day-in-hum…

But SIGN UP for the email newsletter: action.hrw.org/page/36941/sub…
I’ve also heard from people who'd like more on forced sterilization & other abuses related to reproductive health & rights; government abuses in Bahrain; UK government failures to condemn abuses abroad & their threat to rights at home, as well...

Keep the ideas coming, please!
I've decided to lead the Daily Brief today with #Ethiopia, in particular the authorities' siege on the #Tigray region.

It's a huge issue that gets far too little attention.

We'll be publishing this afternoon in Africa, Middle East & Europe time zones; morning in the Americas.
Read 4 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Sep 1
Russian & Russian-affiliated militaries' forcible transfers of Ukrainian civilians to Russia & to Russian-occupied parts of #Ukraine, are a serious violation of the laws of war that constitute war crimes & potential crimes against humanity.

New report: hrw.org/news/2022/09/0…
The overall scale of the illegal forced transfers remains unclear, but it appears massive...
In July, the Russian News Agency (TASS) reported that over 2.8 million Ukrainians had entered Russia from Ukraine, although this number has not been independently confirmed, and it’s likely not every transfer would qualify as forced.
Read 13 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Aug 31
UN rights chief Bachelet said a year ago that her office was finalising a report on the situation in #Xinjiang (crimes against humanity) but, unless there's some surprise in the next few hours, she'll leave office having not published it.

POLL: Why?

france24.com/en/live-news/2…
Could it be… ?
While you're waiting for the UN rights chief's report, read ours on how the Chinese government is committing crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the northwest region of #Xinjiang:

hrw.org/news/2021/04/1…
Read 4 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Aug 30
Epic flooding in #Pakistan has:

⚠️ killed over 1000 people;

⚠️ affected 30 million others;

⚠️ destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes;

⚠️ wrecked millions of acres of crops;

⚠️ caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage.

It confirms the need for #ClimateAction.
🧵 Image
Triggered by unprecedented monsoon rainfall and glacial melting, #Pakistan’s cataclysm is a terrible reminder that, when we talk about climate change, we’re not discussing some future environmental dystopia.

We’re living it now.
As a country particularly vulnerable to climate change, Pakistan is on the frontlines of this reality.

#Pakistan faces rates of warming well above the global average and, with that, extreme climate events are more likely to be more frequent and more intense.
Read 9 tweets
Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
Aug 26
Estonia, Finland, Czechia & other EU members have stopped or severely limited visas for Russian citizens. There’s a discussion about whether the whole EU should do so, too.

Here’s a 🧵 with our take…
1/
Some EU member states have been calling for the EU to issue a blanket ban on tourist visas for Russian citizens for various reasons, including to shatter ordinary Russians' sense of “business as usual” given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
2/
The visa issue will be on the agenda of the regular meeting of EU foreign ministers on 31 August.

States do not have legal obligations to provide tourist or other visas.

But a blanket ban would be wrong for several reasons…
3/
Read 7 tweets

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