Human Rights Watch accuses China of collecting DNA samples from across Tibet

Human Rights Watch has claimed that Chinese authorities have been taking DNA samples throughout Tibet, including kindergarten students, without the parents' apparent permission. The rights organisation claimed new evidence in a new study made public on September 5 that demonstrated a systematic DNA collecting campaign for whole communities throughout Tibet as part of a "crime detection" drive.

In its research, Human Rights Watch said, "There is no publicly available evidence suggesting people can decline to participate or that police have credible evidence of criminal conduct that might warrant such collection." The report further added that "mass collection for such a purpose was a serious human rights violation in that it cannot be justified as necessary or proportionate."

Tibet has been under Chinese administration since it was conquered more than 70 years ago, in what Tibetans call an invasion and Beijing calls a peaceful liberation from theocratic oppression. It is one of several border regions, including Xinjiang and Mongolia, that have long cracked down on non-Han ethnic minority' religious and cultural traditions.

Further, the DNA collection efforts covered in the report from September 5 were launched in 2019 as part of a policing initiative known as the "three greats" (inspection, investigation, and mediation), which aimed to improve China's stringent grassroots-level policing system. Additionally, the report identified two government bids for the creation of regional DNA databases in 2019.

Human Rights Watch discovered drives in 14 different areas in TAR

Human Rights Watch discovered drives in 14 different areas in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), including one entire prefecture, two counties, two towns, two townships, and seven villages, using publicly available police and official media sources. Additionally, it discovered some collection discs in non-TAR Tibetan regions.

The effort was described as "intrusive policing" in the study since samples were taken from all residents of some communities, including children as young as five, or from all men living there. The police highlighted their efforts to register information and gather DNA samples in Chonggye county in a report from January.

According to the report, in April, police in Nyemo county, Lhasa municipality, took DNA samples from three kindergarten classes as a whole without notifying the parents or obtaining their permission, according to the publicly available reports. In the past, human rights groups have expressed concern over China's DNA collection. The government established a national DNA database in 2000, which has information from at least 40 million people.

Image: AP