UN rights chief urges voters to beware ‘strongman’ politicians who ‘throw glitter in our eyes’
GENEVA — The UN human rights chief has urged voters to be wary of politicians and personalities who are “strong men” and “who put a gleam in our eyes” as more elections loom this year in a busy electoral calendar.
Volker TĂŒrk did not name any leaders or countries, but hinted at a schedule of elections in countries such as Georgia, Tunisia and the United States.
The rights chief delivered his traditional opening remarks Monday at sessions of the Human Rights Council, which typically takes in a wide range of rights concerns around the world. The 47-nation body â whose members rotate each year â opened a five-week fall session.
âI call on voters to ask themselves which political platforms or candidates will work for the human rights of all,â TĂŒrk said. âAnd I call on all voters to be vigilant. Beware of the shrill voices, the âstrongâ types that sparkle in our eyes, offering illusory solutions that deny reality.â
He criticised some politicians who ‘scapegoat migrants, refugees and minorities’ during election periods in countries such as France, Germany, Hungary, the United Kingdom and the US.
The Austrian-born UN veteran contrasted both hopeful and worrying developments, noting a âpositive trendâ toward the abolition of the death penalty worldwide, but an increase in executions in Iran and Saudi Arabia.
He praised the move towards decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in many places, but also criticised the âwave of lawsâ aimed at punishing same-sex relationships in countries including Ghana, Indonesia, Iraq and Uganda.
TĂŒrk criticized âattempts to muzzle freedom of expression and assembly and the free press,â citing arrests of journalists in Azerbaijan â where a UN climate conference is taking place in November â, arrests of opposition leaders in Tunisia and âunnecessary restrictions on civic spaceâ in China, to name a few.
On Monday, the Human Rights Council also discussed the human rights situation in Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.