TWA marks the 13th year in captivity of the 19 year old 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet May 17th 2008: Tibetan Women's Association marks the thirteenth year of the abduction of the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet. The then six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima along with his family were abducted by the Chinese authorities just three days after His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognized him as the 11th Panchen Lama. He along with his family disappeared and remained incommunicado since then. On May 28, 1996, a year after the disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the government of People's Republic of China finally admitted that they are holding the 11th Panchen Lama and his family "in protective custody". According to Tibetan tradition, both the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama's recognition must be confirmed by each other. Thus, the Dalai Lama identifies the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama and guides his training through adulthood and vice-versa. For generations, the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama maintained this unique teacher-disciple relationship of the elder mentoring the younger. Tibetans around the globe are now deeply concerned about the kind of education that the detained Panchen Lama is receiving. In a bid to eliminate H.H the Dalai Lama's influence in Tibet and to gain political mileage out of spiritual traditions, the Chinese government in November 1995 installed a different boy as the 11th Panchen Lama. This imprudent gesture exposes the Chinese government's insecurity regarding its illegitimate authority in Tibet. Despite the international outcry seeking the release of the 11th Panchen Lama, his whereabouts and well-being remain unknown. On September 20, 2005, Dr. B.Tsering, the president of TWA attended the 36th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that called upon the Chinese authorities to allow an independent body to verify the fate of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the Panchen Lama of Tibet. The CRC asked the Chinese authorities to "allow an independent expert to visit and confirm the well-being of Gedun Choekyi Nyima while respecting his right to privacy, and that of his parents." But the request is still pending for three years. The Chinese government has till date failed to comply with the resolution. The continued detention of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents further evidences the serious case of social suppression and religious repression in Tibet.TWA is acutely concerned about the fate and well being of the 11th Panchen Lama. In commemorating this sad day, we beseech the Chinese government to respect the religious rights of the Tibetan people, including our right to identify our religious leaders. Panchen Lama`s presence is imperative to complete the structural mechanism to ensure the continuity of religious authority and leadership in Tibetan Buddhism. We appeal the Convention on the Protection of Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED) and call on the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance (UNWGEID) to help us seek the immediate and unconditional release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and thus enable his return to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, and be established as the rightful holder of the Panchen Lama lineage. Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) has 49 regional chapters and over 15, 000 members outside Tibet. Today, TWA is the second largest Tibetan NGO and the only women's NGO in our exile that advocates human rights for Tibetan women in Tibet and empowerment of Tibetan women in exile, particularly the new refugee women from Tibet.

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