The United States now has a new special coordinator for Tibetan issues. The Indian-origin diplomat and Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya was appointed to this vital role in the US State Department.
As special coordinator, Zeya will serve as the Biden administration’s point person on efforts to help resolve the Tibetan issue, promote Tibetan identity, protect Tibetan culture and heritage, and support the human rights of the Tibetan people.
This is a major development. As someone with decades of high-level experience in US foreign policy—including on the issue of Tibet—Zeya is expected to work proactively at promoting dialogue between the Dalai Lama’s envoys and Chinese leadership, advocating for US interests in Tibet, and advancing the cause of Tibetans around the globe.
The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has been campaigning for a long time calling for the position of special coordinator to be filled as quickly as possible. ICT InterimPresident Bhuchung K Tsering said that they have collected 6,378 petitions to members of Congress and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in this regard.
With this appointment, she is hopeful that the momentum of US support for Tibet has taken another big step forward. There are other reasons to celebrate Zeya’s appointment, she added.
She recalled that during the Trump administration, the special coordinator position remained vacant for three and a half years. When the role finally was filled, it was given to a lower-ranking, assistant secretary of state.
Now, the special coordinator is back at the under secretary level, and it has been filled in the first year of the Biden administration. That not only empowers the new special coordinator to be successful; it also sends a strong message to Beijing about the United States’ commitment to Tibet, she added.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharmshala, has welcomed the appointment of Under Secretary Uzra Zeya as the new US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. “We really look forward to working with the Special Coordinator for Tibet in her new capacity,” he said.
Uzra Zeya belongs to an immigrant family. Her parents immigrated from Bihar in India to the US decades ago. She has a long record of service as a diplomat in the US Foreign Service.
Between a brief period of 2019-2021, Uzra Zeya has also served as the President of the Alliance for Peacebuilding. Apart from that, she was also heavily involved in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor as the principal deputy assistant secretary.
