UN Warns Of Worst Cascade Of Human Rights Setbacks

The UN rights chief has called for concerted action to recover from the worst global deterioration of rights she had seen, highlighting the situation in China, Russia and Ethiopia among others.

“To recover from the most wide-reaching and severe cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes, we need a life-changing vision, and concerted action,” Michelle Bachelet told the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s 47th session.

The session, which lasts until 13 July and is being held virtually, is set to feature an eagerly anticipated report by Bachelet about systemic racism, and draft resolutions on Myanmar, Belarus and Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

In her opening address, Bachelet said she was deeply disturbed by reports of “serious violations” in Tigray, racked by war and with about 350,000 people threatened by famine.

She pointed to “extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, sexual violence against children as well as adults,” and said she had “credible reports” that Eritrean soldiers were still operating in the region.

Other parts of Ethiopia, which held elections on Monday, were also seeing “alarming incidents of deadly ethnic and inter-communal violence and displacement”, Bachelet said.

“The ongoing deployment of military forces is not a durable solution,” she said, calling for national dialogue.

Bachelet also decried the situation in northern Mozambique, ravaged by recent deadly jihadist violence, where she said food insecurity was rising and “almost 800,000 people, including 364,000 children” had now been forced to flee their homes.

The UN rights chief also pointed to the “chilling impact” of a sweeping national security law introduced in Hong Kong.