The Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) adopted this week a statement condemning China’s system of compulsory boarding schools for Tibetan children and calling for its immediate abolition.
The statement on “the protection of Tibetan children,” which was adopted by a large majority of 67 members in favor and with no opposition, notes that the boarding school system “aims to eliminate the distinct linguistic, cultural and religious traditions of Tibetans.” It also urges the Chinese authorities to allow the establishment of private Tibetan schools and calls on the European Commission to request that European diplomats, independent journalists, and international observers be granted access to boarding schools throughout Tibet.
The statement was brought forward by the Riigikogu’s Tibet Support Group – one of the largest and most active parliamentary groups for Tibet in Europe – several of whose members visited Dharamshala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, in the past year, where they met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and were briefed on the situation inside Tibet. Speaking during the debate on the adoption of the statement on 11 February, Member Margit Sutrop stressed that no child should be used as a tool of dictatorship. “Children’s rights are a line that must not be crossed,” she added, noting that even as a small country, Estonia has a responsibility to speak out clearly, knowing “how vulnerable language is.”
Statement
Read below the full statement by the Estonian Parliament (also available here).
The video recording of the debate and vote on the statement is available here (in Estonian), and the transcript here.
Statement of Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia)
On the protection of Tibetan children
The official policy of the People’s Republic of China emphasizes equality and autonomy for ethnic minorities living in the country, while at the same time focusing on social control and assimilation of these nationalities.
The Chinese authorities have established a large-scale system of de facto compulsory and politicized boarding schools for children aged 4 to 18, requiring them to receive a compulsory education in Mandarin without the opportunity to learn and use the Tibetan language in depth and to learn Tibetan culture and history.
In a report published in February 2023, the Special Rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council drew attention to the policy of the Government of the People’s Republic of China aimed at the cultural, religious and linguistic assimilation of the Tibetan people through the boarding school system.
On 14 December 2023, the European Parliament, based on a report by UN experts, adopted a resolution on the abduction and forced assimilation of Tibetan children in Chinese boarding schools in Tibet and strongly condemned the repressive assimilation policy throughout China.
In view of the above, the Riigikogu:
- condemns China’s assimilation policy and the Tibetan boarding school system, which aims to eliminate the distinct linguistic, cultural and religious traditions of Tibetans and other minorities, such as the Uyghurs;
- calls for the immediate abolition of the boarding school system and the practice of family separation for children in Tibet, and calls on the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to allow the establishment of private Tibetan schools;
- calls on countries and the European Commission to demand that the Government of the People’s Republic of China issue visas to European diplomats to visit boarding schools throughout Tibet and allow independent journalists and international observers to enter the region;
- calls on other national parliaments to adopt statements in defence of Tibetan children and to forward them to the institutions of the European Union, the United Nations and the Government and Parliament of the People’s Republic of China.
Lauri Hussar
Speaker of the Riigikogu
Tallinn, 2026
Presented by the Foreign Affairs Committee on 9.02.2026.