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UN Questions Vietnam and China Over Tibetan Lama’s Death Special rapporteurs have raised serious concerns about increasing transnational repression against Tibetans, and call for a full investigation.
Free Tibet | 09/10/2025 A group of UN human rights experts have issued two strong joint communications to both Vietnam and China [1] concerning the suspicious death, subsequent cremation and obstruction of justice in the case of the revered senior Tibetan Buddhist leader, Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche, the highly respected Tibetan Buddhist leader of Lung Ngon Monastery in Tibet, [2] died in late March 2025, at the age of 56, while in custody in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, after fleeing persecution by Chinese authorities in his homeland. [3] His body was cremated in secrecy and without the consent of his family or monastic community in April, despite urgent international appeals for an independent investigation, spearheaded by the Tibetan community. [4] The communications, from rights experts concentrating on arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial and arbitrary executions and minority issues, detail the harrowing sequence of events from his detention and interrogation by Qinghai Provincial Police Department [5] to his arrest, demise and cremation without consent from his family, culminating in the passing of Rinpoche’s mother, Kasa Dukkar Dolma; [6] who is believed to have died from prolonged anguish that deteriorated after her son’s disappearance in 2024. The UN human rights experts raise critical questions of state accountability and violations of international law. Specifically they express concern about Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche’s arrest by Chinese authorities in 2024, and his subsequent arrest and enforced disappearance in Vietnam in 2025, which occurred in the presence of both the Vietnamese police and Chinese individuals. Both governments are called on to provide a “full, prompt, transparent, and independent international investigation” into Rinpoche’s death, which occurred in Vietnamese custody. The communication condemns the “transnational repression” and, most critically, the “obstruction of justice” demonstrated by the authorities’ actions, including the lack of transparency, “forcible cremation under armed guard” and “deliberate destruction of evidence” that is considered to be a clear violation of international forensic standards. The communications unequivocally condemn the case as a strong and alarming example of transnational repression; a rapidly increasing global threat for Tibetans seeking refuge and living in exile. This marks a significant step forward in international scrutiny of China’s transnational repression and Vietnam’s potential complicity in China’s human rights abuses against Tibetans. Tenzin Rabga, Free Tibet, said: “The release of this UN communication is a turning point. For months, Tibetan communities and human rights defenders have been sounding the alarm, raising concerns about enforced disappearance, torture, and a deliberate cover-up. This UN communication validates those concerns. It is a powerful reminder that even in the face of China’s global repression, international mechanisms still matter. Now, governments must act on these findings, demand accountability from both Vietnam and China, and ensure that this case does not disappear.” Lhadon Tethong, Tibet Action Institute, said: “This UN intervention confirms what Tibetans have known since hearing the shocking news of Tulku Hungkar Dorje’s death – that both Vietnam and China have questions to answer and need to be held accountable for their actions. Tulku Hungkar Dorje’s death is one of the most egregious examples of both China’s transnational repression as well as Vietnam’s complicity and the UN intervention is a stark reminder of the need to uphold international human rights standards.” Tenzin Lekdhen, Students for a Free Tibet, India, said: “After over seven decades of brutal, relentless occupation and persecution, the tragic fate of Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche is a stark reminder of the danger Tibetans face. The international community must recognise that true security for Tibetans can only be achieved when the root cause of their suffering is addressed. We demand that world leaders finally move beyond condemnation to concrete action: it is time to end the occupation of Tibet and grant the Tibetan people the freedom they have been denied for generations.” Lobsang Yangtso, International Tibet Network, said: “Rinpoche’s death is a tragic casualty of China’s transnational repression, made lethal through the complicity of governments like Vietnam. The international community have a responsibility to not only shine a light on these extraterritorial abuses, but to establish clear, enforceable red lines to guarantee the safety of every Tibetan who flees persecution in their occupied homeland, Tibet.” Zoe Bedford, Australia Tibet Council, said: “This case is an outrageous demonstration of China’s transnational repression against Tibetans. We are at a critical juncture: governments around the world must cease their complacency and actively prevent the Chinese government from extending its campaign of persecution to individuals who sought freedom from the abuses they suffered in Tibet.” Ju Tenkyong, Amnye Machen Institute, India, said: “The Vietnamese and Chinese governments have not at all given opportunity to the Rinpoche’s family, friends, and disciples – as per their requests – to return the body of Rinpoche to his monastery in accordance with the Tibetan tradition and international law, and have not conducted any investigation into the causes for his death. If cases like this are not called out and Red Chinese with immeasurable impunity are held to account from the start, many more countries are at risk of seeing such cases repeat. I earnestly appeal to international bodies and governments not to adopt a neutral position on this matter, and urge them to continually put pressure for clarity on this matter. We will also be continuing our efforts until there are clear answers.” ____________________________________________________________ Notes to editors:
[1]
Two related joint communications to Vietnam and China have been issued by the
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions, Special Rapporteur on minority issues, 8 August 2025: [2] Human Rights Watch, ‘China/Vietnam: Suspicious Death of Tibetan High Lama’: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/09/china/vietnam-suspicious-death-tibetan-high-lama [3] ‘CHINESE AUTHORITIES DECLARE MISSING TIBETAN ABBOT DEAD’, Tibet Watch, 3 April 2025: https://tibetwatch.org/chinese-authorities-declare-missing-tibetan-abbot-dead/ [4] JOINT LETTER: Governments Must Call On Vietnam For An Independent Investigation Into Detention, Death & Cremation of Tibetan Leader: https://tibetnetwork.org/joint-letter-likeminded-govts/ [5] “It has been reported that it may have been linked to failure to organize an “appropriately warm reception” for the People’s Republic of China (China) government-appointed Panchen Lama, when he visited Golok Prefecture, and failing to implement government education policies in the schools he founded as well as after organizing a long-life prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.” https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=30160 [6] https://tibet.net/mother-of-late-hungkar-rinpoche-passes-away-following-prolonged-illness-and-grief
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