The UN human rights commissioner expressed his concern about restrictions on civil society in China and Russia – #human #rights #commissioner #expressed #concern #restrictions #civil #society #China #Russia
GENEVA, March 7 (Reuters) – UNCommissioner for human rights Volker Türk on Tuesday China and Russia criticized the governments for the restrictions imposed on civil society.
The much-anticipated speech has been based in Geneva since Turk took office in October UNwas his most comprehensive appeal to the Human Rights Council and was closely watched by diplomats and rights groups for preference.
The Austrian Turk said his main message to governments is to listen to people, victims and human rights defenders.
“Strictly restricting civic space is the Achilles’ heel – a fatal weakness of governance,” he said, citing developments in China and Russia, Beijing’s “arbitrary detention” of human rights defenders and lawyers, and Russia’s shutdown of newspapers.
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Turk opened his speech by referring to the “shocking scale” that the war in Ukraine will damage the rights of Ukrainians “for generations to come”.
He later condemned Mali’s military for “serious violations” and Reuters reports on Addis Ababa’s atrocities in the Tigray war. UN After announcing that he was trying to end his investigation, he stressed the need for continued independent monitoring of the situation in Ethiopia.
Turk, who rarely criticizes Western democracies, USA He called on London to talk to striking workers, citing police violence against black people and the risk of record lows in living standards in Britain.
It remains to be seen whether Western countries will consider China’s alleged abuses, including the large-scale detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, which he mentioned about 30 minutes into his 37-minute speech. Türk said his office has opened communication channels to monitor legal issues in China.
China strongly rejects all abuses.
Reporting by Emma Farge; Edited by Matthias Williams and Alex Richardson
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
2023-03-07 18:20:42
Source – reuters
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