UN Human Rights Council 41: Item 4 General Debate
The UK took the opportunity to discuss China, Iran, Chechnya, the DPRK, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Venezuela.
Thank you, Madam Vice-President,
The United Kingdom would like to refer to interventions elsewhere on Myanmar, Belarus, Eritrea, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi. We remain deeply concerned at recent events in Sudan. We condemn the security services’ use of brutal force against peaceful protestors in Khartoum, and call for accountability.
We are increasingly concerned at the growing use of detention camps in Xinjiang; UN observers should be allowed unrestricted access. We have wider concerns about freedom of religion or belief in China, including for Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Falun Gong, and about the deteriorating situation for non-State media journalists.
We also remain concerned by Iran’s deplorable human rights record, including its treatment of dual nationals. We urge Iran to stop harassing journalists and halt its use of the death penalty, especially for crimes committed by minors.
We call on Russia to uphold the human rights of all its people, including LGBT people in Chechnya. We call on Russia to grant international human rights monitors access to illegally annexed Crimea and release all Ukrainian political prisoners.
Reports of systematic human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are deeply concerning. We call on DPRK to constructively engage with the international community and to grant immediate access to human rights actors.
We remain concerned about the humanitarian crisis and human rights situation in Yemen, especially cases of arbitrary detention, child soldier recruitment and persecution of members of religious minorities, such as the Baha’i, in Houthi-controlled areas.
In Egypt, we welcome progress on the new NGO law. We call on Egypt to release all detained journalists, to limit the use of pre-trial detention and solitary confinement, and to guarantee rights to family prison visits.
In Libya, we are deeply concerned by recent reports of an airstrike killing many migrants on the outskirts of Tripoli.
Finally, we have serious concerns about the erosion of human rights and fundamental freedoms and increasing repression of the opposition in Venezuela. The death of Captain Acosta while detained by military intelligence requires urgent investigation.
Thank you, Madam Vice-President.