China claims sabotage as UN rights official visits Xinjiang
Beijing, China AP China on Tuesday said the US, Britain and other foreign powers are seeking to sabotage its foreign relations by orchestrating criticism surrounding a trip by the top United Nations official for human rights. China has long held back the fact-finding mission led by Michelle Bachelet, focused on allegations of mass confinement, forced […]
Wang meets top UN rights official as she opens Xinjiang trip
Beijing, China AP China’s foreign minister met with the UN’s top human rights official on her visit to the country and shared with her that China opposes “politicising” human rights and imposing double standards, its foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Michelle Bachelet in the southern city of Guangzhou on Monday as she […]
UN Human Rights chief due to arrive in China for historic visit
Beijing, China/Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet begins a visit to China on Monday, the first trip by a holder of the office since 2005 amid concerns that it could lead to an endorsement rather than scrutiny of China’s rights record. During the six-day trip, Bachelet will visit Xinjiang, […]
UN to set up inquiry into possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution on Thursday to set up an investigation into possible war crimes by Russian troops in the Kyiv area and beyond, a move that Russia said amounted to political score-settling. Members passed by an overwhelming majority (33 for, two against) a resolution to order a Commission […]
Russia may have committed ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine, says UN rights boss
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Russia may have committed war crimes by killing civilians and destroying hospitals in its pounding of Ukrainian cities, the top United Nations human rights official said on Wednesday in her strongest comments yet on the conflict. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Michelle Bachelet urged Russia to end its five-week invasion. […]
Myanmar army engaged in torture, mass killings, war crimes – UN
Reuters Myanmar’s military has engaged in systematic human rights violations, many amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the United Nations said on Tuesday, in its first comprehensive human rights report since last year’s coup. Security forces have shown a flagrant disregard for human life, using air strikes and heavy weapons on populated areas […]
US tells China: Give UN rights chief wide access in Xinjiang
Geneva, Switzerland AP The United States called on China’s government Wednesday to grant “unhindered and unsupervised access” to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, when she visits China and its western Xinjiang region in May. Ambassador Sheba Crocker, the US permanent representative to UN institutions in Geneva, said any interference in the […]
Nearly 400 civilians killed in Afghanistan since Taliban takeover, UN says
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Nearly 400 civilians have been killed in attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, more than 80 per cent of them by a group affiliated to Islamic State, a UN report shows, underscoring the scale of the insurgency faced by the new rulers. It is the first major human rights report since the […]
UN rights chief says air strikes have killed hundreds since November in Ethiopia
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The UN human rights chief said on Monday the situation in northern Ethiopia had deteriorated since November and her office had received reports of wide-spread violations including rapes and lethal air strikes. Michelle Bachelet told the Geneva-based Human Rights Council her staff had recorded 304 deaths and injuries to 373 people in […]
Tens of millions at risk in Ukraine, UN says; ICC team leaves to investigate war crimes
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United Nations’ human rights chief said on Thursday that tens of millions of lives were at risk in Ukraine as the conflict there intensified. Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate halt to hostilities as she opened a debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on setting up an international commission of […]