Res. No. 1299
Resolution calling for the removal of the
2008 Olympic Games from Beijing and calling upon all American businesses and
corporations who have their headquarters in New York City or do business in New
York City to review their financial dealings with China to ensure compliance
with international human rights standards, and to withdraw sponsorship or
support of the 2008 Olympic Games if they are held in China.
By Council Members Avella, Brewer, James and Nelson
Whereas, The People’s Republic of China invaded the independent country of Tibet in 1949-50, and has committed “acts of genocide” according to the International Commission of Jurists; and
Whereas,
On March 29, 2000, the New York City Council adopted Resolution No. 802, which
recognized the sovereignty of Tibet (including the Tibet Autonomous Region and
all Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan Provinces) as an
occupied country, stated that Tibetan people have the right to control their
own economic development, and proclaimed that China should enter into good
faith negotiations with representatives of the Tibetan government in exile; and
Whereas,
The United States Congress has stated that Tibet, including those areas
incorporated into the Chinese Provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan,
is an occupied country under the established principles of international law;
and
Whereas,
Between 1959 and 1965, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolutions
1353 (XIV), 1723 (XVI) and 2079 (XX), calling for the cessation of practices
which deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental human rights and
freedoms, including their right to self-determination; and
Whereas,
In the past fifty years, China has engaged in systematic human rights
violations in Tibet, including actions which constitute genocide or the
attempted genocide of the Tibetan people, imprisoning and torturing hundreds of
thousands of Tibetans, arresting arbitrarily, detaining without public trials,
denying free speech and free press, and engaging in forced or coerced abortions
and sterilizations of Tibetan women; and
Whereas,
China has not complied with international law, including the International
Covenant on Civil & Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and
Whereas,
In 2001, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected China to host the
2008 Summer Olympic Games; and
Whereas,
China promised to improve human rights conditions in China and Tibet and allow
greater media freedom prior to the start of the Summer Olympics; and
Whereas,
According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, China has not met
its obligations to improve human rights in preparation for the Olympics, and
human rights in both China and Tibet have actually deteriorated since China was
designated as the Olympics host nation; and
Whereas,
Reporters Without Borders has found that China has not allowed greater media
freedom as promised, but in fact remains the world’s largest prison for
journalists; and
Whereas,
In 2006, the United States State Department reported that serious human rights
violations have occurred in Tibet, such as imprisonment and torture of
political prisoners, denial of freedom of speech, religion and association, the
forcing of monks and nuns to denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and
interference in the selection of Buddhist leaders, such as the Panchen Lama and Gendun Choekyi Nyima; and
Whereas,
Other reports from human rights groups have found that China has forcibly
resettled thousands of Tibetan nomads without their consent and without
adequate compensation; and
Whereas,
According to The Office of Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet, China continues
to strip Tibet of its natural resources such as gold, copper, iron, timber, and
minerals and transport these resources to China; and
Whereas,
China has announced plans to divert important waterways from Tibet to China,
such as the Yarlung Tsangpo
River, which is causing severe environmental problems in Tibet and neighboring
states; and
Whereas,
The unrestricted influx of Chinese migrants to Tibet, often with government
subsidies, is further marginalizing the Tibetan people, especially since the
completion of the Gormo-Lhasa Railway, and threatens
to make Tibetans a minority in their own homeland; and
Whereas,
The IOC rejected Tibet’s request to enter its team in the Summer 2008 Olympics;
and
Whereas,
Many American corporations with headquarters and operations in New York City
sponsor the Olympic games and have financial dealings with China; and
Whereas,
The rights of the Tibetan people in their struggle for human rights, economic
justice and self-determination must be acknowledged and respected; now,
therefore, be it
Resolved,
That the Council of the City of New York calls for the removal of the 2008
Olympic Games from Beijing; and, be it further
Resolved,
That the Council of the City of New York calls upon all American businesses and
corporations who have their headquarters in New York City or do business in New
York City to review their financial dealings with China to ensure compliance
with international human rights standards, and to withdraw sponsorship or
support of the 2008 Olympic Games if they are held in China.
R.C.
LS#4537
3/4/08