New UN rights chief decries abuses of minorities, migrants

The new UN rights chief decried Monday crackdowns on minorities in countries like Myanmar and China and urged Western countries to respect migrant rights, warning that erecting walls only caused chaos and suffering.

In her first address, Michelle Bachelet opened the UN Human Rights Council's 39th session stressing her "commitment to bridging the differences between communities and promoting respect, well-being and freedom."
She said that if created, the panel would also "complement and support" the International Criminal Court's planned probe of certain aspects of the crisis, insisting on "the imperative of justice for Myanmar."
She pointed to a review of China by independent UN rights experts last month which "brought to light deeply disturbing allegations of large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uighurs and other Muslim communities in so-called re-education camps across Xinjiang."
She highlighted Italy's decision to repeatedly close its ports to arriving migrants, insisting such "political posturing" was having "devastating consequences for many already vulnerable people."
She also slammed harsh tactics in Hungary and "shocking reports" that "food has been withheld from migrants held in transit zones on the Hungarian-Serbian border."
While the country has "halted the unconscionable practice of separating immigrant children from their families," she pointed out that "over 500 migrant children taken away from their parents ... have still not been returned to their families."