Mr President,
Thank you, High Commissioner,
In Iran, the killing of thousands of Iran’s own people, including the continued execution of protesters, lays bare Iran’s longstanding violent suppression of peaceful dissent. This Council condemned that brutality in January, and we remain steadfast in supporting international accountability efforts.
Four years on from your Office’s Xinjiang Assessment, China has not implemented its recommendations. Human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet continue. We support your efforts to understand the impact of the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress on ethnic and religious minorities.
The situation in Afghanistan is alarming. The erosion of the rights of women and girls, and religious and ethnic minorities, is deeply troubling. As UN reports make clear, Taliban decrees entrench gender inequality, restrict access to justice, and institutionalise religious discrimination. We condemn these laws.
In Russia, the Kremlin claims to act for the Russian people but crushes dissent and uses repressive legislation to create a climate of fear internally while targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. In Russia, people are behind bars for exercising their human rights.
We must shine a spotlight on Russia to hold it to account for its repression of Russian people – and its continued atrocities in Ukraine.