Following the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ announcement in Geneva today of a “Call to Action on Human Rights”, Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director, said:
“In this moment of crisis it is essential for the UN Secretary-General to show bold leadership on human rights, and today’s announcement signals a commitment to do just that. We hope this will translate to a genuine, effective and coordinated UN response to address ongoing human rights crises around the world – from the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in Myanmar, to the systematic targeting of human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia and the mass internment of almost one million Uighurs in China – and to hold states to account.
“We welcome any initiative that seeks to put human rights front and centre at the UN across its operations. To ensure the success of this initiative, the Secretary-General must lead by example in his willingness to speak up when abuses are taking place, and must ensure adequate funding for the protection of human rights within the UN. Mr. Guterres has described his new initiative as a call for action. Now we need to see the action.”