UN Urges Chinese Authorities To Guarantee Right To Demonstrate Peacefully - Spokesperson

UN Urges Chinese Authorities to Guarantee Right to Demonstrate Peacefully - Spokesperson

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2022) The UN on Monday urged authorities in China to ensure people's right to demonstrate peacefully amid protests against COVID-19 measures.

"I don't have any particular comment on COVID policies. But obviously, we have seen some of the videos of demonstrations and our reaction is the same one we have for the world over - we believe in the importance of people's right to peaceful assembly and association, their right to demonstrate peacefully and urge the authorities to guarantee that," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a briefing.

As of November 28, daily COVID-19 cases in China have been hitting record highs for several days in a row. Over the past 24 hours, 40,347 cases were registered in the country, including 3,822 symptomatic and 36,525 asymptomatic cases.

Due to numerous local COVID-19 outbreaks and the deterioration of the epidemiological situation in the country, the Chinese authorities have introduced partial lockdowns in some areas, while also forcing their residents to undergo PCR testing on a daily basis.

In particular, restrictive measures have been tightened in a number of China's major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

The new restrictions have resulted in the increase in mass protests across the country. Public anger has mounted after a fire occurred in a residential building in Urumqi - the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region - killing 10 people on November 24. Many people have expressed the opinion that the deaths could have been avoided if the government had not imposed COVID-19 restrictions on the residential complex.

The regional authorities have launched a thorough investigation into the deadly fire and have vowed to bring those suspected of dereliction of duty to justice.