The first three special coordinators for Tibet issues, Greg Craig, Julia Taft and Paula Dobriansky with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his Special Envoy Lodi Gyari, on May, 21, 2001. (Photo: ICT Sonam Zoksang)
Every four years, the United States experiences an upheaval of sort, depending on the outcome of the presidential elections. Like earthquakes, sometimes changes are minor while sometimes they are major ones, including with subsequent tremors. This year we are going through another such upheaval with President Donald Trump having won and bringing in a new set of officials.
As I write this, we are seeing the nominations and confirmations of cabinet level officials. Then Senator, and now Secretary of State, Marco Rubio was the first one to assume office in this new Trump Administration. Given his general interest in and supportive initiatives on Tibet during his stint in the Senate, the expectation is that Secretary Rubio will be inclined to proactively look for opportunities to resolve the Tibetan issue. Among the first concrete actions Secretary Rubio may take that might provide a clue on how he intends to handle Tibet will be the designation of a US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.
History of the Special Coordinator position
Since the formalization of this position in the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002, it has been held by an official at the Under Secretary level, specifically by the individual holding responsibility as Under Secretary of Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. The one exception is during the first Trump Administration (from January 2016 to January 2021) when a Special Coordinator was not appointed until October 2020, just three months before the term ended.
The reasoning given by then Secretary Rex Tillerson was that Congress did not confirm the two nominees for Under Secretary of Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights: Marshall Billingsea (nominated on January 16, 2019, but returned on January 3, 2020) and Eric Ueland (nominated on June 29, 2020, but withdrawn on December 30, 2020). In the absence of an Under Secretary of Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, the Trump Administration then eventually opted to designate then Assistant Secretary Robert A. Destro of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on October 14, 2020 to be the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.
The very next day, Gary Bauer, who was appointed by then President Trump to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, welcomed on its behalf Destro’s appointment as the US point person on Tibet, saying, “The U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues is a crucial position for countering the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to erase the unique identity of Tibetan Buddhism. USCIRF welcomes the strong choice of Assistant Secretary Robert A. Destro to fulfill this role, and we look forward to working with him.”
My organization, the International Campaign for Tibet, while welcoming Destro’s appointment on October 14, 2020, also said it had “advocated for the appointment of a US Special Coordinator as the position is a statutory requirement which concretely demonstrates America’s support for Tibet and the Tibetan people. The Administration should not create a precedent to appoint the Special Coordinator at this lower level in the future.”
In any case, Destro was able to serve in that capacity for only around three months as following the November 2020 elections, Joe Biden became the President in January 2021. However, Destro took the opportunity during this period to stress at a public event in December 2020 on “Religious Freedom in Tibet: The Appointment of Buddhist Leaders and the Succession of the Dalai Lama” that “The United States is committed to helping Tibetans safeguard their way of life – not just in Tibet but also in India, Nepal, Bhutan and everywhere that it flourishes.”
In December 2021, Biden Administration Secretary of State Antony Blinken designated new Under Secretary of Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya as the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.
In our welcome statement, ICT said, “As mandated by the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of last year, we urge Special Coordinator Zeya to proactively take the lead in gathering support from like-minded countries to formulate a common approach on the Tibetan issue.”
Special Coordinator Destro reached out to ICT Chairman Richard Gere on January 19, 2021, on the last day of his tenure and announced through a social media posting subsequently saying, “Spoke with Chairman of @SaveTibetOrg Richard Gere today to underscore the U.S. Government’s serious commitment to support Tibetan human rights.”
Spoke with Chairman of @SaveTibetOrg Richard Gere today to underscore the U.S. Government’s serious commitment to support Tibetan human rights. The depth of the CCP’s interference in Tibetan Buddhism and culture is frightening. We support meaningful autonomy for Tibetans.
— Assistant Secretary for DRL (@DRL_AS) January 20, 2021
In the coming months we will see other senior officials in the Rubio State Department, including at the Under Secretary level, being nominated and confirmed. As and when that happens, we can expect Secretary Rubio to name his Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.
Tibet in the White House?
While we know where Secretary Rubio stands on the issue of Tibet, what about President Trump? During his first term, there was no meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The only direct Tibet interaction at the presidential level was during an event in the White House on July 17, 2019, when there was a brief exchange between Trump and Nyima Lhamo, a Tibetan and niece of then imprisoned Tibetan Buddhist master Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. Nyima Lhamo la was among a group of survivors of religious persecution invited by the Trump Administration to participate in the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.
I have filled out the transcript provided by then White House as follows:
THE PRESIDENT: Paula White? Could you say a few words, Paula, please?
MS. WHITE: Yes, sir.
MS. LHAMO: Sorry, it’s just — I’m from Tibet. It’s my dream to visit — this opportunity to visit the President of America. Tibetan need inside Tibetan need American support, please. Support His Holiness the Dalai Lama to come back to Tibet.
THE PRESIDENT: Support, yeah.
MS. LHAMO: Yeah. His Holiness Dalai Lama to come back in Tibet. My English is not good, but —
THE PRESIDENT: No, it’s fine.
MS. LHAMO: Thank you so much for this opportunity to gather and share the story. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
MS. LHAMO: Thank you so much.
THE PRESIDENT: Please say hello. Please say hello. Okay?
MS. LHAMO: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. And your English is actually very good.
MS. LHAMO: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
When this exchange was going on in the White House, I was in the adjacent room as I was accompanying Nyima Lhamo la.
In his introductory remarks, Trump told the group, “Each of us has the right to follow the dictates of our conscience and the demands of our religious conviction. We know that if people are not free to practice their faith, then all of the freedoms are at risk and, frankly, freedoms don’t mean very much. That’s why Americans will never tire in our effort to defend and promote religious freedom.”
The importance of the Special Coordinator
Why is the office of the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues important? The United States has historically shown a bipartisan approach towards the Tibetan issue. Successive administrations have maintained (as referenced in the annual Tibet Negotiations Report) that “Failure to address these problems will lead to greater tensions inside China and will be an impediment to China’s social and economic development, as well as continue to be a stumbling block to fuller political and economic engagement with the United States.”
Fundamentally, as contained in the Tibetan Policy Act, “The central objective of the Special Coordinator is to promote substantive dialogue between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives.” The position has the following responsibilities:
- coordinate United States Government policies, programs, and projects concerning Tibet;
- vigorously promote the policy of seeking to protect the distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and national identity of Tibet, and pressing for improved respect for human rights;
- maintain close contact with religious, cultural, and political leaders of the Tibetan people, including regular travel to Tibetan areas of the People’s Republic of China, and to Tibetan refugee settlements in India and Nepal;
- consult with Congress on policies relevant to Tibet and the future and welfare of the Tibetan people;
- make efforts to establish contacts in the foreign ministries of other countries to pursue a negotiated solution for Tibet; and
- take all appropriate steps to ensure adequate resources, staff, and bureaucratic support to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the Special Coordinator
There have been subsequent additions through additional Tibet legislation.
To date, there have been seven US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues who have been the most visible indication of American support to Tibet. The first was Greg Craig (from October 31, 1997 to September 16, 1998) appointed by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright under Bill Clinton Administration). The second was Julia V. Taft (from January 20, 1999 to January 19, 2001) also appointed by Secretary Albright. The third was Paula Dobriansky (two terms from May 17, 2001 to January 20, 2009) appointed by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell under the George W. Bush Administration. The fourth was Maria Otero (from October 1, 2009 – February 4, 2013) by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton under the Barack Obama Administration. The fifth was Sarah Sewall (from February 21, 2014 until January 20, 2017) appointed by Secretary of State John Kerry under the second Obama Administration. The sixth was Robert Destro (from October 14, 2020 to January 19, 2021) appointed by Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo under the first Donald Trump Administration. The seventh was Uzra Zeya (from Dec 20, 2021 to January 10, 2025) appointed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken under the Joe Biden Administration.
The first three special coordinators for Tibet issues, Greg Craig, Julia Taft and Paula Dobriansky with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his Special Envoy Lodi Gyari, on May, 21, 2001. (Photo: ICT Sonam Zoksang)
The subsequent special coordinators for Tibetan issues Maria Otero, Sarah Sewall, Robert Destro, and Uzra Zeya.
All of them served as coordinator of the programmatic and policy initiatives of different departments on the issue of Tibet and the Tibetan people. Their activities, including their visits to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership and communities, have sent a strong message to the Tibetans, particularly those living under China’s restrictive rule in Tibet, about the American people’s strong support to them.
In his book The Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy: Memoirs of a Lifetime in Pursuit of a Reunited Tibet, Kasur Lodi Gyari, who had served as His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s point person in Washington, D.C. for over 15 years, highlights the importance of this American symbol for Tibet, “Each Special Coordinator has been very helpful to our cause, and Beijing pays very close attention to the office’s activities. If the position remains unfilled or is given to a low- ranking official, Beijing will most certainly interpret it as a downgrading of the Tibet issue in the administration’s eyes, even if that is not the State Department’s intent. It is thus essential for those continuing to work on Tibet’s behalf, as I did when I was Special Envoy, to build a strong case to keep the position at as high a rank and as political as possible each time a new appointment is under consideration.”
