26 June 2026
THE PATTERN OF DEATHS IN AND AFTER CUSTODY IN TIBET
This report documents at least 16 cases of Tibetans who died in Chinese custody or shortly after release between 2014 and 2026. Across Tibet, individuals from very different backgrounds – students, monks, village leaders, and spiritual teachers – share a common trajectory: detention without legal safeguards, lack of family access, absence of independent oversight, and repeated allegations of abuse or denial of medical care. In several cases, detainees die in custody; in others, they are released only when their condition is already beyond recovery.
After death, accountability is systematically absent. Families are denied information, bodies are withheld or cremated under state control, and no independent investigations are carried out. ICT concludes that the recurrence of these cases, combined with the lack of redress, points to a system in which impunity is structural and detention in Tibet can be life-threatening.
11 December 2025
ERODING TIBETAN LANGUAGE TO FORCIBLY ADVANCE CHINESE NATIONAL IDENTITY
The Tibetan language is undergoing an alarming transformation that is threatening its very survival in Tibet. Subtle changes in official Chinese policies over the years have resulted in the marginalization of the Tibetan language, narrowing scope for further studies for Tibetans, limitations on academic disciplines, and reducing their employment prospects.
This report details the nature of this transformation: from the period when Deng Xiaoping and Hu Yaobang made efforts to respect Tibetan culture and institutionalized the promotion of Tibetan language to the period of Xi Jinping, which is characterized by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) systematic policies to undermine and eventually eliminate the use of the Tibetan language in the education system; forcibly impose Chinese; and create an environment that increasingly encourages Tibetans to adopt Chinese as the medium of communication in their lives.
5 December 2024
DAMNING TIBET’S CULTURE, COMMUNITY, AND ENVIRONMENT
The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) hydropower and dam projects are increasingly leading to massive human rights violations and environmental damage in Tibet. Since Asia’s largest rivers originate in the Tibetan plateau, the construction of hydroelectric dams in Tibet also threaten the water supply, livelihoods and health of up to 1.8 billion people across China, South and Southeast Asia.
This report draws on detailed regional research coupled with advanced Geographic Imaging Software (GIS) analysis and mapping based on a sample study of 193 hydroelectric dams constructed or planned in Tibet since 2000. It presents in-depth analysis and a clear picture of the impact each dam will have on the local population in Tibet, religious sites and the surrounding land.
