Michelle Bachelet To Bow Out As UN Rights Chief In August

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said Monday that she will step down from the post when her term ends in late August, giving no detailed explanation at the opening of the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council's 50th session

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Jun, 2022 ) :The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said Monday that she will step down from the post when her term ends in late August, giving no detailed explanation at the opening of the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council's 50th session.

Following her review of global human rights developments to the 47-member Council, Bachelet, a former president of Chile, told reporters in Geneva that she was retiring for personal reasons, saying her decision has nothing to do with criticisms from western governments and rights groups over a recent trip to China.

Ms. Bachelet was criticized for failing to condemn Beijing's alleged incarceration of nearly two million Uyghurs in Xinjiang during her visit.

Bachelet, 70, told the media that she had informed U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres two months before she went to China that she would not be seeking a second term.

"He told me that he would love me to continue but I explained to him that because of personal reasons, I need to I am not a young woman anymore and after a long and rich career, I want to go back to my country, to my family After being so many years a minister, president, high commissioner, I think it is time. It is time to go back," she said.

Previously, in her speech to the council, Bachelet addressed the barrage of criticism leveled at her, saying she had discussed specific human rights concerns with senior officials in China. These included government policies for countering terrorism, the protection of the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, and legal protection for women.

"I also raised concerns regarding the human rights situation of the Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including broad arbitrary detention and patterns of abuse, both in the VETC (Vocational education and Training Centers) system and in other detention facilities. My office's assessment of the human rights situation in Xinjiang is being updated. It will be shared with the government for factual comments before publication," she said.

At UN Headquarters in New York, the UN chief praised Ms. Bachelet's services, saying, "From her earliest days in Chile with enormous personal sacrifice, she has been on the frontlines of the human rights struggle all her life.

"In all she has done, Michelle Bachelet lives and breathes human rights. She has moved the needle in an extremely challenging political context � and she has made a profound difference for people around the globe." The Secretary-General's Spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters that UN chief would soon name the best possible candidate to replace her.

In her lengthy presentation to the council, the high commissioner reported widespread violations were destroying and impoverishing the lives of countless millions of people in all regions of the world.

She focused on the war in Ukraine, which she said continued to destroy the lives of many, causing havoc and destruction. She noted the horrors inflicted on the civilian population would leave an indelible mark for generations to come.