The head of human rights at the United Nations (UN), Michelle Bachelet, indicated this Monday (13) that she will not seek a second term.
The surprise announcement was made in a sweeping speech at the opening of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.
Bachelet made a trip to China last month, for which she was criticized by human rights groups and some Western governments, including the United States, who said that the conditions imposed by Chinese authorities on the visit did not allow for a complete and independent assessment of the environment. of rights.
“As my term as High Commissioner draws to a close, the 50th session of this Council will be the last I report to,” she said, without giving a reason.
Some diplomats said they expected Bachelet, the former president of Chile, who is seen to be close to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to remain in office after his term ends later this year.
There were murmurs in the Geneva Council room as she made the announcement.
In her speech, she said her office is working on an updated assessment of the human rights situation in China’s western Xinjiang region, where there are widespread allegations that the majority Uighur Muslims have been illegally detained, ill-treated and forced to work.
China denies all allegations of abuse in Xinjiang.
“It will be shared with the government for factual comment before publication,” she said of her report, which was due to be published months ago, without giving a timeline.
Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, called her trip to China an “utter disaster” and criticized Bachelet for using the Chinese term “VETCs,” for vocational education and training centers, to describe mass detention facilities in Xinjiang.
She repeated the term in her speech on Monday (13).
On the rights situation in Russia, she said that the arbitrary arrest of large numbers of protesters who opposed the invasion of Ukraine was “worrying”.
Bachelet also raised concerns about setbacks in women’s rights and restrictions on abortion, referring to the United States, where the Supreme Court is expected to overturn a landmark decision on abortion rights across the country.
Source: CNN Brasil
