Violators to Come Under Scrutiny at UN Human Rights Council 

GENEVA - Countries accused of abusing their peoples’ human rights will come under the lens of the U.N. Human Rights Council over the next three weeks.   Dozens of thematic issues and country reports on topics including the COVID-19 pandemic will be addressed during the session, which begins Monday. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, will present an oral update on the human rights crisis unfolding in Myanmar since the military coup there on February 1. Her report is likely to reflect condemnation of the military leaders’ violent crackdown on the civilian population and, what she sees as a looming threat of civil war in the country. 

The council also will hear updates on the human rights situation in other countries, including Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, South Sudan, and Syria. Separately, observers view events in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region as one of the most serious human rights issues around.  The executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, says reports of imminent famine, summary executions, rape and other atrocities perpetrated in Tigray warrant action by the Human Rights Council.  He is calling for the adoption of a resolution condemning these practices at this session.  “A resolution should clearly name the governments," he said. "We know that Ethiopian government forces have been major perpetrators of these crimes along with, as you mentioned, the Eritrean forces. It is important to recognize the Eritrean forces did not invade Tigray. They were invited in by the Ethiopian government.”