Kathmandu, Sept 28: The joint statement issued by Nepal and China in Beijing following the visit by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal institutionally strengthens China’s hand on matters relating to Tibet and Tibetans, the International Campaign for Tibet said on Wednesday. Advertising The Campaign’s President Tencho Gyatso said: “Nepal is bound by international law to respect the principle of non-refoulement, which precludes states from returning a person to a place where he or she might be tortured or face persecution. “The principle of non-refoulement is included in several treaties signed and ratified by Nepal, such as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Article 3), General Comment No. 20 of the Human Rights Committee and General Comment No. 6 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.” Of the 13 points in the joint statement, four have direct references to Tibetan affairs and encompass politics, boundary management, health and infrastructural issues. Politically, the joint statement says: “The Nepali side reiterated that Tibet affairs are China’s internal affairs, that it will never allow any separatist activities against China on Nepal’s soil.” Although the fundamentals have not changed, this formulation separates Tibet from Taiwan as well as the One China Principle, unlike two earlier joint statements in 2019 (when President Xi Jinping visited Nepal) and 2018 (when then Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli visited China), which said: “The Nepali side reiterated its firm commitment to the one-China policy with Tibet and Taiwan affairs as being China’s internal affairs, and the determination on not allowing any anti-China activities on its soil.” The joint statement refers to implementation of an agreement on boundary management, raising concerns not only about the plight of Tibetans who are trying to flee via Nepal, but also the possible deportation of those who have already entered Nepal. The “agreement between the government of the People’s Republic of China and the government of Nepal on the boundary management system”,which the joint statement now says the “two sides agreed to bring into force…as soon as possible”, provides the Chinese authorities additional avenues to get Tibetans deported from Nepal to Tibet.Kathmandu, Sept 28: The joint statement issued by Nepal and China in Beijing following the visit by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal institutionally strengthens China’s hand on matters relating to Tibet and Tibetans, the International Campaign for Tibet said on Wednesday. Advertising The Campaign’s President Tencho Gyatso said: “Nepal is bound by international law to respect the principle of non-refoulement, which precludes states from returning a person to a place where he or she might be tortured or face persecution. “The principle of non-refoulement is included in several treaties signed and ratified by Nepal, such as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Article 3), General Comment No. 20 of the Human Rights Committee and General Comment No. 6 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.” Of the 13 points in the joint statement, four have direct references to Tibetan affairs and encompass politics, boundary management, health and infrastructural issues. Politically, the joint statement says: “The Nepali side reiterated that Tibet affairs are China’s internal affairs, that it will never allow any separatist activities against China on Nepal’s soil.” Although the fundamentals have not changed, this formulation separates Tibet from Taiwan as well as the One China Principle, unlike two earlier joint statements in 2019 (when President Xi Jinping visited Nepal) and 2018 (when then Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli visited China), which said: “The Nepali side reiterated its firm commitment to the one-China policy with Tibet and Taiwan affairs as being China’s internal affairs, and the determination on not allowing any anti-China activities on its soil.” The joint statement refers to implementation of an agreement on boundary management, raising concerns not only about the plight of Tibetans who are trying to flee via Nepal, but also the possible deportation of those who have already entered Nepal. The “agreement between the government of the People’s Republic of China and the government of Nepal on the boundary management system”,which the joint statement now says the “two sides agreed to bring into force…as soon as possible”, provides the Chinese authorities additional avenues to get Tibetans deported from Nepal to Tibet.