Human rights in Tibet

Human rights in Tibet are a contentious issue. Reported abuses of human rights in Tibet include restricted freedom of religion, belief, and association; arbitrary arrest; maltreatment in custody, including torture; and forced abortion and sterilization. The status of religion, mainly as it relates to figures who are both religious and political, such as the exile of the 14th Dalai Lama, is a regular object of criticism. Additionally, freedom of the press in China is absent, with Tibet's media tightly controlled by the Chinese leadership, making it difficult to accurately determine the scope of human rights abuses.

Tibet exhibits unfavorable working conditions, instances of workplace harassment, and a deficiency in labor inspection mechanisms for addressing violations. Additionally, China has undertaken a widespread campaign aimed at eradicating Tibetan culture and language.

According to a 1992 Amnesty International report (unverified figures), judicial standards in China, including judicial standards in autonomous Tibet, were not up to "international standards." The report charged the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government with keeping political prisoners and prisoners of conscience; ill-treatment of detainees, including torture and inaction in the face of ill-treatment; the use of the death penalty; extrajudicial executions; and forced abortion, sterilization, and even infanticide. A 2020 Reuters report stated that 15 percent of Tibet's population is part of a mass labor program that human rights groups have deemed coercive. Critics of the CCP say that its official aim to eliminate "the three evils of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism" is used as a pretext for human rights abuses. Under the Chinese Communist Party, no one is free. Every aspect of Tibetan life is under siege.

Human rights in Tibet prior to its annexation by the People's Republic of China differed considerably from those in the modern era. Before 1951, Tibet was ruled by a theocracy or serfdom and had a caste-like social hierarchy.