UN chief urges respect for human rights of all, including Kashmiris

Washington: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres underscores the need for respecting human rights in his interactions with world leaders, including the rights of the Kashmiri people, a UN spokesperson said Wednesday.

“The Secretary-General has always expressed, both publicly and privately, the need for all human rights to be fully respected and for the authorities to act in a way that each community feels that their identity is respected and that they belong to the country as a whole,” UN Deputy Spokeperson Farhan Aziz Haq said in response to a question whether the UN chief would bring up China’s human rights record when he meets the Chinese leaders in Beijing during the Winter Olympics, beginning Friday.

“This is something he (Guterres) does consistently,” Haq said at the regular noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

A journalist followed up on the deputy spokesperson’s reply about the principle position of the secretary’s general on human rights, and asked “Does this position apply squarely and unequivocally to the people of Kashmir, who are suffering under the Indian occupation?” “Yes. It applies across the board,” Haq replied.

Guterres will attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics tomorrow, despite a request by the United States (US) to skip the event.

In a message, the UN secretary-general urged the world to “build a culture of peace” through the power of sport, calling for nations to observe the Olympic Truce, endorsed last week through a resolution of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).