Nearly 70 years after a failed uprising forced the Dalai Lama into exile, China faces sustained criticism over its rule in Tibet, but little sign of pressure translating into change on the ground. From the United Nations General Assembly to joint statements by Western governments, appeals have been made for Beijing to loosen restrictions and allow access to the remote Himalayan region. China has consistently dismissed such demands, calling Tibet an inseparable part of its territory and accusing critics of interfering in its internal affairs. Few results from decades of resolutions The UN’s last General Assembly resolution on Tibet came in 1965. Two earlier texts, in 1959 and 1961, had called for respect for human rights and affirmed the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination. In 1991, a UN sub-commission urged China to end policies threatening Tibet’s cultural and religious identity. Since then, the language of concern has grown but results have been scarce. In 2020, 39 countries – including Britain, Japan and most European Union members – urged “immediate and unfettered access” for independent observers, linking Tibet with Xinjiang in criticism of China’s treatment of minorities. Beijing rejects allegations, blocks visits China has repeatedly turned down or delayed requests for visits by UN human rights officials. No UN High Commissioner has been to Tibet since 1998, and the last special rapporteur to enter was in 2005. Beijing says it has brought development and stability to Tibet, pointing to infrastructure investment and poverty alleviation. It denies reports of torture, arbitrary detention and curbs on language and religion, calling them politically motivated. Authorities have maintained tight control over monasteries, expanded “patriotic education” campaigns, and stepped up surveillance across the plateau since unrest in 2008. Advocates such as Tashi Wangchuk have been jailed for “inciting separatism”, and the boy recognised by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama has not been seen in public since 1995. Meanwhile, on the ground, the reality is becoming unbearably harsh. A tough life in Tibet Documented persecution continues under the banner of “stability.” Human Rights Watch reports dozens of arrests since 2021 in Tibetan areas for phone and internet “offences,” including possessing “banned” content (such as the Dalai Lama’s image) or contacting family abroad. Language-rights advocacy remains treated as separatism; Tashi Wangchuk’s five-year sentence for calling for Tibetan-medium education remains a stark example of the CCP’s intolerance for even the most basic of cultural rights. UN special rapporteurs warned in 2023 that around one million Tibetan children are being separated from their families and placed in state-run residential schools that aim at cultural assimilation. But “assimilation” is a word that whitewashes what the “bloodless” ethnic cleansing that is actually happening. Rights groups and journalists who have documented Mandarin-only instruction, “bilingual” curriculums that erase the Tibetan language, and heavy ideological content. There are colonial-style boarding-school systems starting as young as four; recent coverage shows the programme expanding, with psychological and cultural harm cited by both teachers and parents. At the same time, Lhasa’s historic core has been remodelled into a stage set for mass tourism while security saturates the streets. Renovations around Jokhang and the Barkhor have long been condemned as turning a living religious centre into a superficial theme park; watchdogs and heritage groups describe “commercialisation,” “fake replicas,” and a loss of authentic fabric even as police posts and paramilitary units proliferate.