Dharamshala: A Tibetan parliamentary delegation, including parliamentarians Tashi Dhondup and Rigzin Lhundup, continued their advocacy efforts in Belgium on 30th September 2024. They began by meeting with Representative Rigzin Choedon and Tenzin Phuntsok of the Office of Tibet Brussels to discuss upcoming advocacy programs.

The delegation met with Els Van Hoof, a Member of the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium, to brief her on the overall situation in Tibet, particularly regarding the policies implemented by the Chinese Communist Party.

This was followed by meeting with officials of the European Foreign Affairs Office, discussing the European Union’s statement debate on human rights situations that require the United Nations Human Rights Council’s attention, dated September 24, 2024.The statement explicitly mentioned the urgent situation in Tibet and named several political prisoners as examples. They said that the European Union continues to pay attention to and support the Tibetan cause. The two parliamentary delegates thanked them for highlighting the situation in Tibet in detail in the statement and requested continued attention to the urgent situation in Tibet and support for the Tibetan struggle.

The Tibetan MPs then held a meeting with Karl Vanlouwe, Member of the Senate of Belgium, and a colleague, discussing the critical situation in Tibet and Tibetan struggle.

In the evening, there was an open discussion at the Office of Tibet with Mélanie Blondelle, International Campaign for Tibet Brussels’s Policy and Advocacy Officer and Han Vandenabeele, an activist from the Lungta Association. The conversation focused on ongoing grassroots campaigns to raise awareness about the Tibetan cause among the general public and strategies to further enhance their effectiveness.