When Michelle Bachelet became the world’s top human rights official in 2018, she expressed deep concern about the human rights catastrophe in the Xinjiang region of China. Four years later, many describe what is happening there as a genocide, targeting millions with a wide range of destructive measures.
Ever since 2018, the UN has been demanding that its human rights specialists be allowed to visit Xinjiang, without Chinese government restrictions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said negotiations are ongoing.
But such a visit would inevitably be stage-managed by the Chinese authorities, the perpetrators. That presents a grave risk of tarnishing the prestige and reputation of the UN and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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Two men shot Arnold Joaquín Morazán Erazo to death in his home in Tocoa, Honduras, one night in October 2020. Morazán was an environmental activist and one of 32 people criminalized by the Honduran government for defending the Guapinol River against the environmental impacts of a new iron oxide mine in the Carlos Escaleras National Park.
So far, at least eight people who have opposed the mine have been killed, putting its owner, Inversiones Los Pinares, at the centre of a deadly environmental conflict in the mineral-rich Bajo Aguán region. Local communities are concerned about the mine’s potential ecological damage. In their attempts to defend their territories, local leaders have been surveilled, threatened, injured and imprisoned, and some, like Morazán, have been killed.
G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting Communiqué (London, 5 May 2021) Share
I. Preamble
1. We, the Foreign and Development Ministers of the Group of Seven (G7), and the High Representative of the European Union, are meeting today at a critical juncture for our people, our planet, our security and our future prosperity. Democracy is under pressure globally; the pandemic continues to pose acute global challenges; new technological threats are mounting; and the catastrophic effects of climate change are increasing. We commit to strengthening open societies, shared values, and the rules-based international order. We affirm that free and fair trade, and the free and secure flow of capital, data, knowledge, ideas and talent is essential to our long-term prosperity. We affirm that liberal democracy and free and fair markets remain the best models for inclusive, sustainable social and economic advancement. We commit to tackling threats jointly and committing our resources to a
US urges utmost restraint after Colombia protest violence
Issued on: US authorities urged restraint after deadly anti-government clashes in Colombia Luis ROBAYO AFP 2 min
Washington (AFP)
The United States on Tuesday urged authorities in Colombia to act with utmost restraint to avoid more deaths during anti-government protests that have resulted in at least 19 fatalities.
Protesters in Colombia have called for fresh mass rallies after more than 800 people were wounded in clashes during five days of demonstrations against a proposed tax reform. We urge the utmost restraint by public forces to prevent additional loss of life, deputy spokeswoman for the State Department, Jalina Porter, told a press conference.