Man described by campaigner as \u2018a tireless advocate for Tibet\u2019 pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.<\/p>\n
Published On 3 Jul 20263 Jul 2026<\/p>\n
A man has died after setting himself on fire while holding a Tibetan<\/a> flag outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, police said.<\/p>\n The New York Police Department said on Thursday that law enforcement personnel responding to an emergency call made at about 6:30pm local time (22:30 GMT) found a 52-year-old man with severe burns throughout his body.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n The man was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said, adding that an investigation was ongoing.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement to the AFP news agency: \u201cWe are saddened by this tragic and horrific incident, and offer our condolences to his family.\u201d<\/p>\n US media and a pro-Tibet activist said the individual was a pro-Tibet campaigner. Police did not confirm this claim or provide any potential motive for his action.<\/p>\n Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, named the deceased man as Lobga Rangzen.<\/p>\n \u201cLobga was a tireless advocate for Tibet who devoted himself to peacefully raising awareness of the human rights crisis in Tibet,\u201d Gyatso said in a statement to AFP.<\/p>\n Gyatso said Rangzen had condemned China\u2019s new \u201cLaw on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress\u201d<\/a> that Beijing said aims to forge a \u201cshared\u201d national identity among ethnic groups.<\/p>\n Overseas campaigners have argued it will further degrade the rights of ethnic minorities, like Uighurs and Tibetans, that Beijing is accused of persecuting.<\/p>\n