The Society for Threatened PeoplesExternal link said the Chinese authorities continue to exert pressure on Tibetans, notably banning monks in monasteries from teaching the Tibetan language.
“We ask Switzerland to seek ways both through bilateral contacts and at a multilateral level to ensure the human rights and the protection of minorities are observed,” Christoph Wiedmer, co-director of the Society for Threatened Peoples said.
He pointed out that relations between Switzerland and China have become closer since both countries signed a free trade agreement in 2013.
The NGO warned that Tibetans in exile have been subject to attempts by the regime in Beijing to intimidate them and put them under digital surveillance.
The appeal comes on the 60th anniversary of the uprising of Tibet against China in 1959.
Around 7,500 people of Tibetan descent live in Switzerland, including about 400 asylum seekers, constituting the largest Tibetan exile community in Europe.
Last September, the NGOs handed in a petition to the Swiss authorities demanding that basic rights of the Tibetan diaspora be better protected. However, the government has not responded, according to Wiedmer.
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