Washington appoints new US envoy on Tibetan human rights

China has previously criticised the role, accusing the US of interfering in China’s internal affairs.Published On 18 Feb 2026US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that the Trump administration has appointed an envoy to the position of United States special coordinator for Tibetan issues.The role, which was created by the US Congress in 2002, will be filled by Riley Barnes, who is currently also serving as the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labour.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US sanctions officials from Marshall Islands and Palau, citing China fearslist 2 of 4US and Taiwan sign ‘pivotal’ deal to cut tariffslist 3 of 4Photos: Lunar New Year celebrations welcome Year of the Fire Horselist 4 of 4India-China in new spat over Arunachal Pradesh: What’s it all about?end of listRubio announced Barnes’s appointment in a statement on the occasion of Losar, the Tibetan New Year, on Tuesday.“On this first day of the Year of the Fire Horse, we celebrate the fortitude and resilience of Tibetans around the world,” Rubio said in a statement.“The United States remains committed to supporting the unalienable rights of Tibetans and their distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious heritage,” he added.The new appointment comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump has stepped back from speaking out on a range of human rights issues globally, and as the US has either intervened directly or threatened other countries, including Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, and Denmark’s Greenland.The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to Rubio’s announcement, which comes during the Chinese New Year holiday, but Beijing has criticised similar appointments in the past.“The setting up of the so-called coordinator for Tibetan issues is entirely out of political manipulation to interfere in China’s internal affairs and destabilise Tibet. China firmly opposes that,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesman at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said after a similar appointment was made by the US State Department in 2020, during Trump’s first presidency .