Fernandez: Cuba is not ready to ‘sacrifice’ socialism

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister discusses decades of hostile relations with the US.

Leaders of the Americas prepare to gather in Los Angeles on June 6 for their ninth regional summit. But Washington has announced Cuba will be excluded, arguing the Caribbean nation does not meet the required democratic standards.

United Stas-Cuban relations have been hostile ever since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. In 2016, President Obama visited the island, calling the occasion an “historic opportunity” to leave the Cold War behind.

But under President Trump, all opportunities were lost. And now, under President Biden, relations remain tense.

So, what is next for the two countries? Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, talks to Al Jazeera.

JUST ANOTHER CONSPIRACY THEORY

Russian Military Points to Presence of US-Funded Biolabs in Nigeria Amid Global Monkeypox Scare

TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defence Troops chief Igor Kirillov issued a fresh briefing on Friday, providing new information on US military biological activities in Ukraine, as well as details on what his troops know about monkeypox, a smallpox cousin which has caused a global health scare in recent weeks.


The Pentagon, he said, introduced a mandatory smallpox vaccination back in 2003, with US diplomats and medical personnel also required to be jabbed against the infectious disease, Sputnik reported.

"This indicates that the United States considers the smallpox pathogen a priority pathogenic agent for combat use, and ongoing vaccination measures are aimed at protecting their own military contingents," Kirillov added.

"The Pentagon's interest in this infection is far from accidental. The return of the causative agent of smallpox would be a global catastrophe for all of humanity," Kirillov suggested, emphasising that smallpox is 10 times more lethal than COVID-19.

Citing seized documentation, Kirillov revealed that American instructors trained employees of biolabs in Ukraine on how to respond to an emergency smallpox outbreak.

Smallpox was eradicated in the late 1970s thanks to global efforts, with vaccinations against the disease subsequently halted by most countries. However, health authorities in countries around the world have recently begun expressing concerns about monkeypox, after cases began to spread earlier this month.

Kirillov took note of the World Health Organisation's recent determination that the causative agent of the monkeypox virus being met today originated in Nigeria, and pointed out that this is "another state upon whose territory the United States has deployed its biological infrastructure".

"According to available information, there are at least four US-controlled biolabs" in the African nation, Kirillov noted.

Kirillov also pointed to media reports on the 2021 Munich Security Conference-Nuclear Threat Initiative simulation modelling the outbreak of a bioengineered, highly deadly strain of monkeypox by terrorists, calling the exercise "an odd coincidence which needs additional verification by specialists".

The officer emphasised that against the backdrop of repeated US violations of biosafety requirements and evidence of the careless storage of pathogenic biomaterials, including smallpox, the WHO should investigate the activities of US-funded labs in the cities of Abuja, Zaria, and Lagos, Nigeria, and inform the international community on their findings.

The RCB Defence Troops chief also expressed concerns about the safety of smallpox virus samples inside the United States itself.

"The lack of proper control and the violation of biosecurity requirements in the United States could lead to the use of this pathogen for terrorist purposes. Between 2014 and 2021, unaccounted for vials containing the virus were repeatedly found in the laboratories of the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland, and the Centre for Vaccine Research in Pennsylvania," Kirillov continued.

Kirillov stressed that the work of these labs violated a 1996 resolution by the WHO, which prohibited smallpox's causative agent from being stored in all but one US-based laboratory - the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

During Friday's presentation, Kirillov also provided new documentation on the operation of nearly a dozen military-biological projects organised by the Pentagon in Ukraine, including deadly agents and "economically significant" infections, funded to the tune of over $8.01 million between 2008 and 2019.

The officer drew attention to a 2007 memorandum prepared by the Office of the US Secretary of Defence regarding UP-2, a project mapping dangerous pathogens in Ukraine, whose "main purpose", in Kirillov's words, was "to collect information on the molecular composition of pathogens characteristic to Ukraine, and to transfer strain samples".

A similar memorandum was prepared for project UP-1, studying rickettsia and other diseases spread by arthropods, Kirillov stated, pointing out that the document required for all of the dangerous pathogens collected to be transferred to the Central Reference Laboratory in Kiev, allowing them to be transferred to the US.

The RCB Defence Troops also published documentation on UP-4, a programme investigating the possibility of spreading dangerous infections through migratory birds, which the MoD has already previously reported on at length. The "UP-4 Project Option Year 2 Quarterly Report" for the period from October 2019-January 2020 shows that a total of 991 specimens from wild birds were collected by researchers.

Friday's document dump also included a letter by a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officer expressing concern about epidemiological threats posed by US involvement in biological activities in Ukraine.

The letter, written by Col. A.A. Lemeshov, deputy head of the SBU Directorate in the Kherson Region and addressed to Col G.I. Kuznetsov, deputy chief of the Anti-Terrorist Centre and Analytical Department head Col. S.I. Shanaida, was sent on 28 February 2017, and focused on the safety of Ukrainian laboratories and the threat of biological terrorism.

Lemeshov bluntly warned that "recently, the potential threat to the epidemiological and epizootic situation in our country has taken on increasing importance, due to attempts by the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency through the Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp to establish control over the operations of microbiological laboratories in Ukraine for the study of pathogens of especially dangerous infectious diseases which can be used to create new biological weapons or improve old ones".

The officer stressed that "in order to maintain the stability of biosecurity in Ukraine, and to prevent attempts to accumulate pathogen samples in its territories under the pretext of 'studying the specifics of local strains and determining the degree of virulence of the obtained samples among the population', it is advisable to track the activity of Black & Veatch Special Project Corp's 'programmes of involvement in joint biological activities'".

Kirillov's RCB Defence Troops have spent months briefing media on the extent of US military biological activities in Ukraine, citing seized documents and other materials to reveal how the Pentagon, US government agencies and corporations have cooperated with their Ukrainian counterparts to engage in dangerous research on Ukrainian territory.

Earlier this month, Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev indicated that Moscow intends to initiate a formal probe at the United Nations into possible US violations of the Biological Weapons Convention in Ukraine.

In a document-filled briefing earlier this month, Kirillov revealed that in addition to its use by the US military to study deadly pathogens, Ukraine has acted as a guinea pig for Western drug companies, including Pfizer, Battelle, Gilead, Dynaport Vaccine, AbbVie, Eli Lilly & Co, Merck, Moderna, and others, to test medicines which could not be tested in their home countries for safety reasons.

Off the wall: The artists who are the face of the Gulf street art scene

Dubai-born and raised artist Fathima Mohiuddin draws the glimpses from passers-by as splashes color onto a giant seven-story building on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi. (Supplied)

WHILE WEARING FALL PROTECTION SHE IS NOT WEARING PPE FOR SPRAY PAINTING

Jennifer Bell, Al Arabiya English

Published: 28 May ,2022

Spray can in her tattooed hand and baseball cap perched in her head, Dubai-born and raised artist Fathima Mohiuddin draws the glimpses from passers-by as splashes color onto a giant seven-story building on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

From the UAE to Qatar, larger-than-life murals are increasingly being splashed on the side of buildings, car parks, and underpasses across the region – and it is women who are behind the street art.

A rising collective of artists across the GCC are aiming to change a cultural mindset about street art, from its association with graffiti and vandalism to expressive art that’s publicly available to the masses.

Mohiuddin is part of the street art scene in the UAE and is responsible for some of the hundred-foot high murals on multi-storey buildings across the country.

Mohiuddin – reputed for her bird-themed series, including one which depicts a falcon in preparation for flight, splashed across a seven-storey building in Abu Dhabi’s in Yas Island – said over the past years the UAE has welcomed more and more public art.

From Abu Dhabi to Dubai, Fathima Mohiuddin’s iconic work is capturing the attention of both residents in the country – and the international art scene. (Supplied)

She believes this changing mindset is beginning to be echoed across the region.

“There’s definitely activity in countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi already,” said the artist. “The thing is that it starts, in theory, as subcultures, underground movement and then surfaces and becomes more publicly noticed and acknowledged.

“In the UAE it’s just taken on a strong commercial presence quite quickly. Perhaps because the UAE is very liberal.

“I can imagine women in other GCC countries might face more challenges in this respect. But there was just a street art festival in Qatar, there have been in Kuwait, there are definitely street artists paving the way in Saudi.”

Mohiuddin, an Indo-Canadian artist, said her foray into street art began after returning to the UAE from London a completing a masters course focused on art in public spaces.

Fathima Mohiuddin’s work is displayed in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island. (Supplied)

Her first outdoor mural in the UAE was in 2009 for the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre where Mohiuddin worked as the gallery and project manager at the time. She then, in 2011, founded the artist-run entity The Domino, a platform for street artists in Dubai.

“We started out doing small live pop-up gigs at events, working with brands like Tiger Beer, Red Bull and Adidas. “And I think that’s probably where it’s progressed the most, painting murals is something a fair few artists are able to do full time now. There is a commercial demand for it, there are corporate budgets and artists can sustain doing just that. In that way, the scale of things has changed a lot.”

'The growing street art scene allows artists to connect with a large number of eyeballs in, says Mohiuddin, “a massive way.”

“It is also taken more seriously now; we’re able to get respectable budgets and it has become a place artists from around the world want to come paint.

“It’s important to recognize the journey that got us here I think. It didn’t happen overnight. A lot of people worked really hard and handled a lot of challenges to pave the way for where the scene is now.”

Mohiuddin, who has about 10,000 followers on Instagram, began to get noticed for her work in the UAE and was approached to display her work globally.

She now has work depicted in 10 counties across the world with her signature style splashed across shipping containers, cars, walls and skate parks in some of the biggest global cities.

Birds, she said, have been an important theme in Mohiuddin’s work over the past six years. (Supplied)

To date, she has street art in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Bristol, London, Vienna, Waterford, New York, New Jersey, Toronto, Calgary, Mexico City, and Adelaide.

“I’m always proud of a public wall when I finish it because I know I’ve worked hard to get there, I know it’s still a big deal for women from this part of the world, women of colour, South Asian women.

“And the walls that go on to have a lifespan past a year are really exciting because they have this whole journey of their own after you leave them. You see photos pop up of people posing with them, you know people are having their own kind of experience and dialogue with them and that’s a pretty neat feeling that you left something somewhere that now has a life of its own.”

Dubai born street artist Fathima Mohiuddin at work. (Supplied)

As being both a female and a Dubai-born street artist, Mohiuddin said she is often met with surprise when people ask what she does as a career.

“I think the most common response is “cool!”. There’s a bit of rock and roll to it in some way. I think, particularly because I go by the name‘ fatspatrol’ and my work is not obviously feminine, people do say they were also surprised that ‘that’ was painted by a woman.

“However, I do also face challenges being taken seriously on work sites sometimes which I think has to do with me being a woman.”

Fellow street artist, Assil Diab, who goes by her street artists name ‘Sudalove’, is known for her work in Qatar.

The 33-year-old Sudanese began graffitiing as a teenager however, she only picked up her first spray can in 2012 when she was commissioned for an art series in Qatar following her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in the US.

Fellow street artist, Assil Diab, who goes by her street artists name ‘Sudalove’, is known for her work in Qatar. (Supplied) WEARING PROPER PPE

“I took up an internship with Ashghal and Qatar Museums to assist the infamous El Seed (a French-Tunisian contemporary artist whose practice crosses the discipline of painting and sculpture) to paint 52 panels of the Salwa road tunnels in Doha.

“That is where I first picked up a spray can and really picked up all the techniques and never put the spray can down after that experience.

“Ultimately, I set up an Instagram and started posting my work here and there I started to get gigs. I remember I got paid double what I used to make monthly in my office job for a two-week job and I was in love with the art form and the power of expression I felt through it, so I decided to do this for a living in 2014 onwards.”

Most of her work in Qatar is commissioned and she is provided with a space or canvas.

“I’ve painted in Qatar and Bahrain thus far (in the region). I don’t see how you can paint freely if it isn’t commissioned, the scenes are different. Especially Qatar has vastly grown in the past five to 10 years there are a lot more buildings and construction sites underway. It would be impossible to randomly paint on any wall, and also illegal.

“Personally, I haven’t had a problem making a living as a street artist as I would’ve elsewhere, and I believe that is so for two factors; that there is a lack or a small number of street artists in the region and also people are now more into supporting women’s role in the workforce.

“I think some people love commissioning me for the fact that I am a female versus other factors, for example, it is just a little more entertaining to see a woman from this region doing it because it is so rare.

“Street art has always been a male-dominated art form however this is slowly changing and also much more artists in this part of the work are getting into it and the numbers are greatly increasing.”

Fellow street artist, Assil Diab, who goes by her street artists name ‘Sudalove’, is known for her work in Qatar. (Supplied)

Professional artist Maddy Butcher began spray painting murals shortly after arriving in Dubai from New York in 2011. She has had large works commissioned across the UAE

“When I got to Dubai about 12 years ago, I started going to a hip hop night where I met graffiti artists from Lebanon and the Philippines,” she said. “They let me join them for a spray jam and put cans in my hand and let me give street art a proper try.

“I was hooked. If felt like I should have done it years before - and now if I go a week without spraying, I feel like something’s missing.

“The beauty of it for me was that even though the piece is on something concrete, it’s less permanent - and can only be there until the next piece comes along. I like that - it feels more organic. That started for me in Dubai.”

Butcher says she and her fellow street artists in the UAE work with a lot of different types of brands, venues and events who “all recognize that street art is here to stay and is evolving all the time.”

“If we want to do private work, that’s up to us. As a collective, we all know and support each other - and find lots of permitted spaces to have spray jams that keep us pushing ourselves and evolving. Dubai is full of hidden street art and there are plenty of legal spots to keep us busy.”

Butcher would like to see more women and girls painting – and stereotypes about female street artists to change.

“It’s still a super masculine art form, and while that’s changing - I receive (and mostly appreciate) a lot of attention purely for being a female artist, but often more so than simply being an artist, or for my work on its own.

“But if we’re all painting at a live art event - the boys will all be left to do their thing - while the female artists get interrupted by everyone and anyone - men who simply want to talk to a lady, or often - mothers who would like to ask if their children can have a go.”

“I get frustrated at that. I want to be accessible, of course, but they won’t interrupt the boys - so for a woman artist - they must think she can’t be taking it as seriously.

“I get troubled by that because there’s an underlying prejudice there that comes from women that perhaps even they don’t recognize. I want to do everything I can to make sure more girls see spray-painting as an accessible art form - but I also want us to be taken seriously and recognized equally for what we do.”

Butcher also wants to draw the distinction between graffiti and street art.

“Graffiti has to do its thing. It needs to live and breathe at night, with sweat and mischief. Street art is often enabled by brands. It’s daytime. It’s accessible and it can be whatever it wants.

“It would be nice to have a few legal free-walls like Leake Street in London. I know that would be harder to police - but perhaps if artists registered on some kind of government site - and got a number or code - and that appeared alongside artworks on free walls - the authorities could be comfortable with no images or messages rocking the boat.”

As for Mohiuddin, she is in her final weeks finishing a huge project in Abu Dhabi, where she has a string of murals visible from Yas Drive and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Highway depicting birds in flight.

“I’m super proud of the two projects I’ve done on Yas Island in the last year, one I’m hoping to complete in the next month or so. They’re both huge in scale. I’ve really enjoyed painting them and painting in the country I grew up in and call home is definitely always more meaningful.”

Mohiuddin wants to show the distinction that needs to be made between graffiti and street art.

“Graffiti is motivated by rebellion, to some extent. And there are graffiti artists in the UAE who stay true to what it represents. Some street artists come from a graffiti background. Some street artists come from a fine art background and just see public walls as one of many mediums or canvases for their work like I do.

“The word ‘graffiti’ does get thrown around without an understanding of that distinction. Graffiti itself has become a tourist attraction in a lot of major cities like graffiti alley in Toronto or Hozier Lane in Melbourne or the Southbank Skatepark in London because these are free for all spaces where artists congregate and paint and represent a visual history or narrative that belongs to that city and the artists who paint it.

“It would be great to see something similar here.”

Read more:

From Dubai to the world: UAE street artist gets global acclaim for large-scale murals

Banksy to auction pandemic-inspired painting for UK health service staff

Dubai street art bridges UAE’s past with present in ‘open-air museum’

There is no post-traumatic stress in Gaza because the war never ends

Palestinian injuries in Gaza have not healed yet from last year's Israeli assault and there is now fear of a coming war as Israeli provocations in Jerusalem and elsewhere intensify.

BY AHMED DREMLY

MAY 28, 2022 

PALESTINIANS ENJOY THEIR TIME ON THE BEACH IN DEIR AL-BALAH, IN THE CENTER OF GAZA STRIP ON MAY 27, 2022. ONE YEAR AFTER THE BRUISING 11-DAY WAR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS, WHICH KILLED MORE THAN 260 PALESTINIANS AND 14 ISRAELIS, THE BESIEGED PALESTINIAN ENCLAVE IS STILL WORKING HARD TO RECOVER. (PHOTO: ASHRAF AMRA/APA IMAGES)


Is life miserable all over the world or just in my country? Is military occupation and apartheid the main reason for pain, loss, and death for others or just in my country? Is it normal for a young man to open his eyes and see nothing but wars, growing up in a big cage, losing relatives, living with a post-traumatic-stress-disorder even during ceasefire, or just in my country? Too many questions fill my brain every day with no clear answers.

As a writer in Gaza I meet many people and hear their stories. It is clear that a year is not nearly enough time to heal Palestinian memories. I can speak on this myself, especially after the latest 11-day Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 260 Palestinians were killed and thousands injured in 11 days of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip last year. Sixty-six children, 39 women, and 17 elderly were among those killed in the onslaught. 1,800 houses, 3 towers, 437 apartments, and 3 mosques in Gaza were destroyed.

My uncle. Mansour, 69, was one of those killed.

MANSOUR DREMLY  RIP

He was beloved by many in Gaza for his kindness and for always helping people.

I still remember when he told me that one day when I get married, he would throw a great wedding for me as gratitude. How could I tell him now that I am about to get married, as he’s no longer with us for no good reason at all? How can he ever attend or participate in any events now? I miss him badly.
An incomplete Eid

One of Muslims’ Eid customs is visiting family and friends. My uncle and four other relatives of my neighbors were killed in the street by Israeli airstrikes last May for no reason except they are Palestinian. They were killed just before Eid al-Fitr last year. It’s apparent that Israeli aggression aims to hurt us on our happiest and most holy days of the year. Eid al-Fitr this year was still not complete for my family without my uncle. I’m sure this story resonates with countless families throughout the Gaza Strip.

Still today, I have nightmares of the 11 days of violence and inhumanity of the Israeli aggression on Gaza. Wars change people’s perspectives of life. It changed mine. Even after a year, I don’t take the road where my uncle was killed. Because I always imagine him there and remember that day.

What makes things worse in Gaza is that the entirety of your life depends on the path of the next Israeli rocket. You don’t know who will be the next martyr. Being Palestinian means that you could be killed without any reason, even if you were a civilian like my uncle.

ZAKARIA MUAMMAR, A MEMBER OF THE HAMAS POLITICAL BUREAU, SPEAKS DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE FOLLOWING PALESTINIAN FACTIONS MEETING IN GAZA CITY TO DISCUSS THE REPERCUSSIONS OF THE ISRAELI FLAG MARCH ON MAY 26, 2022. (PHOTO: ASHRAF AMRA/APA IMAGES)

The next war is knocking on the door

Last Thursday, a group of Israeli soldiers raised the Israeli flag beside the Damascus gate to provoke Palestinians. Now, Israeli far-right groups and thousands of Israeli settlers are preparing to participate in a flag march on Sunday in East Jerusalem and at the Ibrahim mosque in Hebron. They are also blustering to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque.

Hamas, as a result, announced a clear message to Israel and the international community that they wouldn’t stand idly by and do nothing. “The Israeli government is aware that this portends a new war,” Basim Elian, the head of the Department of Foreign Relations for Hamas, has said.

The general atmosphere in Gaza is full of terror of a coming war. Palestinian injuries in Gaza have not healed yet—many of those who lost their homes are still without new homes so far. Gazans are afraid of a coming war. The destruction, bombing, killing, terrorizing nights, and horrible memories are still in our minds. And people here wish only for an end to the Israeli aggression and to live a normal life.

What would a new war mean?

Thousands of Palestinian civilians will be killed by the Israeli war machine for no reason except they live in Palestine, like my uncle. Towers and buildings will become rubble with all of their memories. Shops and workplaces will be destroyed, leading to even more unemployment.

As a young Palestinian writer in Gaza who listens to many heartfelt stories of Palestinian victims, I just want all free people to know how Israeli settler-colonialism, and the international indifference that allows it, will gradually continue destroying Palestinian buildings, holy places, and society until there is nothing left.

In Palestine, you don’t know what will take place in the days ahead, and you know you may be killed at any time. In Gaza, there is no post-traumatic stress disorder because war is never over.

Ahmed Dremly is a creative writer and translator from the Gaza Strip. Follow him on Twitter at @ahmedhodremly.

 

More than 240 Palestinians injured in Nablus clashes

TEHRAN, May 28 (MNA) – The Palestinian Red Crescent announced that more than 240 Palestinians were seriously injured during Friday's clashes between Palestinians and Zionists in Nablus.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that 241 Palestinians were seriously injured during clashes between Palestinians and Zionists in different parts of Nablus.

Israeli forces used tear gas and live ammunition after clashing with Palestinians in Nablus, the statement added, saying that some of the injured are in critical condition.

Meanwhile, a fierce clash broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian citizens following the massive Zionist military offensive in the West Bank on Saturday morning. According to some eyewitnesses, a number of Palestinian citizens were detained by the Zionists.

Palestinian sources recently reported that more than 1,200 Palestinians have been detained by the Zionists in the West Bank since the beginning of the year. The sources noted that the 350 detainees were in fact those whom the Zionist regime had accused of being involved in martyrdom-seeking operations in the occupied territories.

The Assault by Pakistan on Baloch People's Rights Has Now Reached Women

Baloch women, at the forefront of protests to ensure illegal arrests and detentions do not take place, are alone in pressing for their rights.


Baloch women face off with police in Karachi. Photo: Veengas

Veengas

Karachi: “What you can do? You can only abduct Baloch people. If you want to pick us up, do it,” Amna Baloch tells a police officer.

On May 24, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) were to jointly lead a protest rally from the Karachi Press Club to the Sindh chief minister’s house. However, the Sindh government imposed Section 144 and banned political gatherings and rallies. When a few of them gathered to ask about abducted women, they were taken to the police station.

Baloch people have been agitating for the release of all missing persons and in recent times, several Baloch women have allegedly been abducted under the pretext of curbing terrorism.

Mohammad Ali Talpur, a well-known columnist who has spoken for Baloch rights, says that since 1973, Pakistan has been leading a concerted attempt to suppress Baloch people and their demands for rights.

“The policy of abduction, killing, and dumping reared its ugly head in 2000 and then in 2008, it rapidly increased. In 2008-2009, the Pakistan People’s Party government spent Rs four million [Pakistani rupees] on counter-insurgency, in addition to paying amounts to death squads in Balochistan,” Talpur says.

So brazen are the attacks on Baloch people, that police do not even back down from launching assaults in front of media.

“Do not touch him,” Sammi Deen Baloch, a human rights activist, and deputy general secretary for VBMP, cried loudly as police officers and men in civilian clothes attempted to pick up a Baloch man at the Karachi Press Club.

Under pressure, police ended up releasing the Baloch man. Officers told media that the action was against the flouting of Section 144.

Meanwhile, Amna Baloch had a different version. She said that there were only four of them, and they did not chant a single slogan but just asked about two Baloch women who had earlier been taken to the police station.

Also read: ‘Tell Us Whether We Are Orphans’: In Pakistan, No Respite for Families of Baloch Missing Persons

Wracked with worry about the two women, Amna says that police initially were unwilling to share details. When Amna, Sammi, and other Baloch protesters pressed them, they said the two were in police custody.

When this reporter took a photograph of police gathered at the scene, she was asked to delete the photo. Eventually, explanations on her nature of work seemed to suffice. However, to questions on where the two Baloch women were kept in custody, police remained mum and instead, laughed.

This reporter also overheard police discussing the eventual picking up of Sammi, one of the four asking after the two Baloch women.

“Look at her (Sammi), she speaks a lot, you should abduct her,” one man in civilian clothes was heard telling police.

By then, reporters had surrounded Sammi. Some of the reporters asked police how she had violated Section 144, and what pretext police could have of taking her to the police station. To this, officers had no answers.

The women were eventually taken to the police station and released afterwards.

Sammi and others being taken to the police station. Photo: Veengas

After a few hours, videos of this went viral on social media. The Sindh government, later, took notice of the incident.

Nida Kirmani, an activist, was taken along with the Baloch women to the police station. But Nida, a non-Baloch woman, was apologised to by police. Baloch women were asked to take off their masks and niqab. Nida shared her experience on Twitter.

Political activist Mahrang Baloch said that abducting Baloch women has been publicly justified by law enforcement ever since Shari Baloch attacked Karachi University.

After the University incident, Baloch students in various institutions were harassed in the guise of investigations, including in Punjab universities.

“But Baloch women had been targets long before. In Awaran, a city of Balochistan, security agencies had abducted Baloch women in an explosives case. Later, allegations proved untrue. Those women were so poor they had no slippers on their feet. Pakistan security forces target common Baloch citizens, even those who aren’t rights activists,” Mahrang said.

Mass graves were found in the province, she added.

At the KPC protest, Amna said that the state’s violence was a cause of constant fear and sorrow. Sammi, for instance, has been agitating for the release of her father.

Mahrang’s father, Abdul Ghaffar, was abducted in 2009 and his mutilated dead body was recovered from Gadani on July 1, 2011. In 2017, her brother was abducted but released after four months. She has received threats to end her political activism.

Even Balochistan home minister Mir Zia Lango once taunted her, noting that the state had not apprehended her yet.

“When my number comes, they will definitely abduct me,” Mahrang said. “If the agencies can arrest Noor Jan, who lives in the much more central Hoshaap area, then who am I?”

Mahrang along with VBMP leaders, led a sit-in in front of the Balochistan chief minister’s house demanding knowledge of missing persons and Noor Jan, a 40-year-old Baloch mother of three, who was abducted in a suicide bomb case. The FIR says she was apprehended wearing a suicide jacket. Initially given a death sentence, she was released on bail.

Baloch women and men in a sit-in in front of the CM’s house in Balochistan. 

Photo: Mahrang Baloch

“How is possible that a mother will wear a suicide jacket at 3 am in the house where her children are sleeping?” asks Mahrang.

One Habiba Baloch was dragged by male security officers from her home in Karachi and released after four days.

Mahrang also cites the example of Hafeez Baloch, who is an MPhil student at Quaid-e-Azam University of Islamabad, who was picked up and charged allegedly in a fake case.

Mahrang is also worried about conservative society in Pakistan that is ready to point fingers at women who are outside at night. “When Baloch women are made to spend days in the custody of security agencies, you know what and how society thinks,” she said.

Many see in present day Pakistan’s treatment of Baloch women a reflection of how Bengali women were treated in East Pakistan.

Silence of human rights groups

Human rights groups and political parties remain silent on the mistreatment of Baloch women.

Recently, Shireen Mazari, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and former minister for human rights, was arrested by the police. In Pakistan, people condemned it and Islamabad high court sat at night to rule in the case. The same reaction is absent when it comes to Baloch women.

Talpur says there is a clear difference of perception.

Sammi criticised the role of feminists in Pakistan who raise voices in selective cases but when the question comes to Baloch women, they are silent. “Why does their feminism end at Baloch women?” Sammi asks.

Also read: Pakistan: Family of Baloch Activist Who Died in Canada Claim Harassment by Authorities

Mahrang added that if the Balochistan government and other political parties genuinely wanted the removal of the FIR against Noor Jan, they could have asked for it.

She criticised political parties who, when they are in opposition, speak about Balochistan for their vote banks, but when they come in power, they speak for Kashmir first and then for Islam. “Balochistan was and is never their priority. For instance, the sitting government’s interior minister Rana Sanaullah rejected a commission for Baloch students who have been made to disappear. He belongs to Pakistan Muslim League, led by the same Maryam Sharif who once promised us that she would look into our matter,” Mahrang said.

On the other hand, human rights organisations follow the state’s narrative in the case of Balochistan. “We (Baloch women) force them to issue statements. Otherwise, they do not care about us,” she said.

Baloch women entered the protest arena asking for the release of their fathers and brothers. Mahrang said that the time will soon come when Baloch fathers and brothers will need to agitate for the release of their daughters and sisters.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BALOCH 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BALOCHISTAN 

Rights Office Welcomes Zambia’s Pledge To Abolish The Death Penalty

Saturday, 28 May 2022
Article: UN News

Zambia’s plan to abolish the death penalty adds to the growing global chorus against the practice, the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, said on Friday in welcoming the decision.

President Hakainde Hichilema announced the development on Tuesday in a speech on the eve of Africa Day, according to media reports.

“We warmly welcome the Zambian President’s pledge on 24 May to abolish the death penalty in the country and work with Parliament to end this cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment,” said OHCHR Spokesperson Seif Magango.

“Use of the death penalty is incompatible with fundamental human rights and dignity,” he added.

A major step forward

While Zambia has maintained a moratorium on capital punishment since 1997, when executions last took place, Mr. Magango said that formal abolition in law would be a major step forward for human rights in the country.

Zambia would also join the growing consensus worldwide for universal abolition of the death penalty. Some 170 countries have abolished it, or introduced a moratorium, either in law or in practice.

OHCHR called on the Government and Parliament to bolster the President’s pledge with tangible legal reforms, including amending the Penal Code Act and the Criminal Procedure Code Act.

Assistance and cooperation

Additionally, the authorities should re-launch the Constitutional Reform process to expand the Bill of Rights, including with explicit prohibition of the death penalty.

The Government was also urged to demonstrate further international leadership on the issue by ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on abolition of the death penalty.

Mr. Magagno said OHCHR “stands ready to provide technical assistance and cooperation to the Zambian authorities to make this promise a reality.”

© Scoop Media

Chile: Apology For Sterilizing HIV-positive Women In Moment Of ‘reproductive Justice’

Saturday, 28 May 2022
Article: UN News

The head of the UN agency leading the fight against HIV/AIDS, welcomed on Friday a public apology from Chile on a landmark case of involuntary sterilization of women living with HIV.

“This settlement is a significant moment for women around the world who have been fighting for reproductive justice for decades,” said UNAIDS chief Winnie Byanyima.

President Gabriel Boric Font issued the apology as part of a settlement resulting from a case brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) by a Chilean woman who was sterilized without her consent shortly after giving birth in 2002.

“We welcome the recognition of international accountability in this emblematic case of human rights violations that women living with HIV and their reproductive autonomy have long suffered,” said Luisa Cabal, Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Shocking surgery

When Francisca – a young woman from a rural town in Chile – turned 20, she and her partner received the happy news that they would be welcoming their first child.

During a routine prenatal test, she was diagnosed with HIV.

Taking all the appropriate measures to minimize the risk of HIV transmission, she gave birth to an HIV-negative boy that November.

However, during the caesarean section the surgeon decided without consent, to sterilize her.

“Coercive sterilization of women living with HIV is a violation of women’s most fundamental human rights,” underscored Ms. Byanyima.

Making a case

The Center for Reproductive Rights and the Chilean organization Vivo Positivo took Francisca’s case to IACHR in 2009 along with those of other HIV-positive women who documented that they were pressured to undergo surgical sterilization.

In another case, after giving birth, Daniela was told that she would transmit HIV to her newborn with a hug or kiss. She said in interviews that this was how she understood what discrimination was.

Long road to justice

After more than a decade of international litigation and IACHR’s studying the case, the State signed a settlement agreement accepting responsibility and committing to redress the violations and take measures to ensure these acts would not happen again.

UNAIDS intervened in this case with a brief that informed the IACHR on the health guidelines and human rights standards that each country must follow to respect, protect and guarantee the human rights of people living with HIV.

“It vindicates a journey of more than 10 years, both for Francisca and the organizations that accompanied her, in her quest for justice,” said Ms. Cabal.

Public contrition

During an official ceremony, broadcast live on social media, President Boric apologized to Francisca “for the serious violation,” the denial of justice, and for the long time she had to wait.

“It hurts to think that the State…is responsible for these cases. I pledge to you…that while we govern, we will give the best of each one of us as authorities so that something like this will never happen again and certainly so that in cases where these atrocities have already been committed, they will be properly redressed,” he said.

The Associate Director of Legal Strategies for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Center for Reproductive Rights, Carmen Martinez, read Francisca’s statement saying that she could not have led the struggle in her own name as it would have “closed endless doors,” for her.

“To this day, people who carry HIV are still looked down upon with contempt as if it was our decision to become infected. However, I want to believe with conviction that this will change.”

Stigma and discrimination prevail

HIV-related stigma and discrimination not only impact the health, lives and well-being of those living with or at risk of HIV but also hinder the response by limiting access to broader sexual and reproductive health and other health services.

UNAIDS continues its work to ensure that governments invest in preventing and responding to violations linked to the intersectional discrimination against people living with HIV.

“Unfortunately, this practice is still happening in many countries and efforts to stop it and bring justice to more women must be stepped up,” said the UNAIDS chief.

© Scoop Media

Mexico Energy Regulator Fines Spain's Iberdrola $467 Million

May 28, 2022
Agence France-Presse

The Iberdrola Tower building is seen behind the Guggenheim Bilbao museum, on Feb. 21, 2012, in the Northern Spanish Basque city of Bilbao.

MEXICO CITY —

Mexico's energy regulator fined Spanish firm Iberdrola $467 million for improperly selling electricity to third parties in violation of domestic "self-supply" laws, a document published Friday said.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) said Iberdrola "was obliged to generate electricity exclusively to satisfy the self-sufficiency needs of its partners... and not to sell, resell or by any legal act dispose of capacity or electricity," according to the document.

Mexico's "self-supply" contracts require private electricity generators to only provide energy to the specific partners listed at the time of the contract's signing.

Private generators' surpluses may be sold to the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), which holds a monopoly on the transmission and distribution of electricity to end consumers.

The CRE document argues that the violations occurred at Ibedrola's branch in the northern industrial city of Monterrey, between Jan. 1, 2019, and Aug. 31, 2020.

The fine comes at a tumultuous time for Mexico's power industry, as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tries to bring it back into the public sector.

Mexico's Congress rejected a constitutional reform bill in April that would have strengthened the role of the state in electricity generation, a key measure of the left-wing Mexican president that has been publicly criticized by the United States.

That reform would have reversed a 2013 move to privatize Mexico's electricity sector and given more power to the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) over the private sector and foreign companies.

Beijing says UN human rights chief Bachelet experienced 'real Xinjiang'

28-May-2022
CGTN

Beijing said the visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has achieved "positive and concrete results," specifically with first-hand experience of "a real Xinjiang."

"People who have visited Xinjiang all found that the Xinjiang they saw is completely different from the one demonized in the Western media," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said during a press briefing on Saturday regarding Bachelet's trip this week. She visited Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong and northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

In Xinjiang, Bachelet had conversations with people from various communities, including ethnic minorities, academics, and representatives of different social sectors. She also had a face-to-face conversation with religious personnel on how the rights of religious freedom of Muslims are respected and guaranteed by law.

In Guangzhou, Bachelet had "a close-up view of China's whole-process democracy at the community level," according to Ma.

"At the elderly care center and rehabilitation facility for people with disabilities, she saw how high technology helps facilitate the rights protection of specific groups," Ma said. "At Guangzhou Internet Court, she learned about world-leading practices of the judicial protection of human rights in the digital world."

According to Ma, Beijing gave the high commissioner a comprehensive introduction on the path, philosophy and achievements of China's human rights development.

The visit also strengthened China's cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ma added.

China attaches great importance to the UN human rights affairs and stands ready to contribute to advancing the international human rights cause, Ma stressed.

Read more:

Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu briefs the media on the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to China

Reuters
May 28, 2022

China: UN visit falls short of addressing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang

Responding to the end of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s six-day visit to China, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said:

“The time has come for the OHCHR to publicly acknowledge the scale and gravity of human rights violations being committed by the Chinese government. The High Commissioner should release the long-awaited report on Xinjiang and present the findings at the next meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in June.

“Failure to release a report that sufficiently addresses crimes against humanity in the region would amount to a betrayal of the victims and their families. This continued lack of urgency puts the credibility of the High Commissioner’s Office at stake.

“The High Commissioner’s visit has been characterized by photo opportunities with senior government officials and manipulation of her statements by Chinese state media, leaving an impression that she has walked straight into a highly predictable propaganda exercise for the Chinese government.


The High Commissioner’s visit has been characterized by photo opportunities with senior government officials and manipulation of her statements by Chinese state media, leaving an impression that she has walked straight into a highly predictable propaganda exercise for the Chinese government. Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“The High Commissioner instead should condemn the ongoing gross human rights violations and seek accountability, truth and justice.

“Bachelet acknowledged that she received appeals from Uyghurs abroad regarding their missing family members believed to be detained and said she raised them with the Chinese authorities. Her office must follow up on these cases and insist that authorities guarantee detainees rights and means to maintain regular contact with family members, including those living overseas.

“Given the various restraints imposed, including COVID-19 restrictions, Bachelet has rightly acknowledged that this visit was not an ‘investigation’. But she should push for it to be a springboard to more meaningful actions and investigations by independent human rights experts in the near future.

“While Bachelet said a working group on human rights, including on business and human rights, counter-terrorism and human rights, and rights of minorities will be established between the UN and Chinese authorities, no clear goals and timeline have been shared. These cannot be a substitute for urgently establishing an independent international mechanism to investigate crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations in Xinjiang, with a view to ensuring accountability, including through the identification of suspected perpetrators.

“The High Commissioner must call on the Chinese government to immediately dismantle all remaining internment camps, release the people arbitrarily detained in them and in prisons, and end the systematic attacks against Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

Background

A team led by High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet spent six days in China including two days in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where Amnesty International has documented systematic arbitrary detention, torture and persecution of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities.

On Saturday, 28 May, the High Commissioner held a virtual press conference in Guangzhou where she spoke about her mission to China. She met with government officials, the business community and members of civil society. In regard to Xinjiang, she spoke about how counter-terrorism measures should not result in human rights violations and need to be subjected to independent oversight. She also mentioned linguistics, religious, cultural and education rights in Tibet and other human rights issues.

During Bachelet’s visit to China, national state media quoted her as saying she “admired China’s efforts in… protecting human rights”. The OHCHR later issued a clarification of Bachelet’s words, which did not praise China’s human rights record.

Since September 2018, when the High Commissioner first sought access to Xinjiang “in light of deeply disturbing allegations of large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uighurs and other Muslim communities”, numerous organizations have published further detailed and well-corroborated information on the situation. In June 2021, Amnesty International launched a comprehensive report documenting how China’s crackdown against predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang amounted to serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity.

Based on dozens of testimonies, the report described a “dystopian hellscape” encompassing grave violations against detainees, systematic state surveillance of millions of people, and efforts to root out the religious traditions, cultural practices and local languages of the region’s Muslim ethnic groups.

Amnesty International launched an international campaign, initially focusing on more than 70 individuals, calling for the release of all people arbitrarily detained in camps and prisons, and for the closure of the internment camps. Just this month Amnesty has collected details of a further 40 missing or detained individuals as news of Bachelet’s visit prompted more families to come forward seeking justice for relatives in Xinjiang who have disappeared and are believed to be detained.

The OHCHR has already compiled its own report on human rights violations in Xinjiang, which Bachelet said was being “finalised” last year. It has not yet been made public, despite repeated requests from almost 200 NGOs, including Amnesty International.


Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet after official visit to China

28 May 2022

A broadcast quality video available at https://vimeo.com/714742493

Good evening and thank you all for joining me here today. This press conference has to be virtual, given the COVID-19 restrictions in place. But I hope this means that those of you who may otherwise not have been able to travel here from different parts of China have been able to join.

Let me start by thanking the Government of China for its invitation. For the first time in 17 years, a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has been able to travel to China and speak directly with the most senior Government officials in the country, and other interlocutors on key human rights issues, in China and globally. I appreciate the Government’s efforts in making this visit happen, particularly the arrangements for my virtual meeting with President Xi Jinping.

I was also able to meet with State Councilor Wang Yi, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, and with senior officials on public security, justice, ethnic affairs and human resources, the State Procuratorate, and the Governor of Guangdong Province. I also met with the All China Women’s Federation. During my two days in Kashgar and Urumqi, I met with a range of officials, including the Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), the Governor and the Vice-Governor in charge of public security, among others. I visited Kashgar prison and the Kashgar Experimental School, a former Vocational Education and Training Centre (VETC), among other places.

In addition, I was able to interact with civil society organisations, academics, and community and religious leaders and others inside and outside the country. In advance of my visit, my Office and I met virtually with a number of civil society organisations that are working on issues relating to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and other parts of China. My visit has also been informed by the work of the UN human rights mechanisms on China over many years, and the preparatory work done by my office and my advance team that arrived in China on 25 April.

I should state from the outset what this visit was – and what it wasn’t. This visit was not an investigation – official visits by a High Commissioner are by their nature high-profile and simply not conducive to the kind of detailed, methodical, discreet work of an investigative nature. The visit was an opportunity to hold direct discussions – with China’s most senior leaders – on human rights, to listen to each other, raise concerns, explore and pave the way for more regular, meaningful interactions in the future, with a view to supporting China in fulfilling its obligations under international human rights law.

Considering China’s significant role in multilateralism, the visit was an opportunity for me to also discuss several other regional and global issues, where China can use its leverage to bring political solutions.

To those who have sent me appeals, asking me to raise issues or cases with the authorities - I have heard you. Your advocacy matters and my visit was an opportunity to raise a number of specific situations and issues of concern with the Government. I will continue to follow up on such issues and instances of concern on a sustained basis.

It would be presumptuous of me to try to encapsulate the full complexity of this vast country’s human rights situation in one statement but allow me to highlight the key topics we were able to discuss at length.

Poverty alleviation and the eradication of extreme poverty, 10 years ahead of its target date, are tremendous achievements of China. The introduction of universal health care and almost universal unemployment insurance scheme go a long way in ensuring protection of the right to health and broader social and economic rights. China’s efforts in support of the multilateral 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, both at home and internationally, are also valued. We stressed the importance of advancing gender parity and appropriate geographical distribution.

Over the years, there have been important legislative and judicial reforms. On gender equality, I welcome revision of the Law on Protecting Women’s Rights and Interests, which should bring about several improvements for protection of women’s rights. I also commend the recent reform of the Civil Code that introduced provisions on sexual harassment as well as the anti-domestic violence law that provides for restraining orders to protect women and children at risk. Of course, as in every country, implementation is key, so it will be important for the authorities to be vigilant in that regard and respond to concerns about how the law is applied in practice. I would like to see more women at all levels of political representation, and have encouraged businesses to create the conditions for more women at the top as well.

I welcome China’s stated aim of ensuring quality development, closely linked to strengthening the rule of law and respect for human rights. This is formulated in the Human Rights Action Plan of China and other policy documents. My team had in-depth discussions on how national legislation and practices must reflect international human rights laws and standards, particularly in relation to law enforcement and judicial procedures, and we look forward to continuing to share our expertise with the Government and judiciary.

The commitment in the Human Rights Action Plan of China to enforce more rigorous procedures for reviewing capital sentences and implement a more stringent mechanism for reporting and reviewing death penalty cases is also welcome. It is important to issue data on the death penalty, and I do hope China will join the growing international momentum towards abolition of the death penalty.

In my discussions with senior officials, the themes of development, peace and security arose in every meeting. Of course, for development, peace and security to be sustainable, it needs to be inclusive and rooted in protection of human rights.

I share the concerns of a number of UN human rights mechanisms about laws and policies to counter terrorism and radicalism and their application.

Violent acts of extremism have a terrible, serious impact on the lives of victims, including those tasked to protect the community. But it is critical that counter-terrorism responses do not result in human rights violations. The application of relevant laws and policies, and any mandatory measures imposed on individuals, need to be subject to independent judicial oversight, with greater transparency of judicial proceedings. All victims must be able to seek redress.

In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, I have raised questions and concerns about the application of counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation measures and their broad application – particularly their impact on the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. While I am unable to assess the full scale of the VETCs, I raised with the Government the lack of independent judicial oversight of the operation of the program, the reliance by law enforcement officials on 15 indicators to determine tendencies towards violent extremism, allegations of the use of force and ill treatment in institutions, and reports of unduly severe restrictions on legitimate religious practices. During my visit, the Government assured me that the VETC system has been dismantled. I encouraged the Government to undertake a review of all counter terrorism and deradicalization policies to ensure they fully comply with international human rights standards, and in particular that they are not applied in an arbitrary and discriminatory way.

Before coming to China, I heard from some Uyghur families now living abroad who have lost contact with their loved ones. In my discussions with the authorities, I appealed to them to take measures to provide information to families as a matter of priority.

I also share the concerns of UN human rights mechanisms about legitimate activities by lawyers, human rights defenders and others being penalized under the national security framework. UN human rights bodies have found the system of Residential Surveillance constitutes arbitrary detention and have called for its repeal.

My interactions with NGOs in China were also enriching. There is important work being done to advance gender equality, the rights of LGBTI people, of people with disabilities and older people, among others.

China has a tradition of grassroots engagement, and I cannot overstate how important this is. Broadening the space for meaningful participation and advocacy by civil society is crucial to strengthen participation and the freedom of expression.

On the Tibet Autonomous Region, it is important the linguistic, religious and cultural identity of Tibetans be protected, and that Tibetan people are allowed to participate fully and freely in decisions about their religious life and for dialogue to take place. I discussed education policies in the Tibet Autonomous Region and stressed the importance of children learning in their own language and culture in the setting of their families or communities.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has long been respected as a centre for human rights and independent media in the region. It is important that the Government there do all it can to nurture – and not stifle – the tremendous potential for civil society and academics in Hong Kong to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights in the HKSAR and beyond. The arrests of lawyers, activists, journalists and others under the National Security Law are deeply worrying. Hong Kong is due to be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Committee in July, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

I have called on China to also ratify the Covenant, which it signed in 1998.

China’s recent ratification of of the two International Labour Organization Conventions (29 and 105) on forced labour, once deposited, will be a welcome and an important starting point for protecting fundamental principles and rights at work. Beyond ratification, it will now be important to build a broad-based system, encompassing not only on labour inspection and enforcement, but prevention and due diligence. Civil society actors – including business, trade unions, NGOs and the media – also have an important role to monitor compliance and highlight gaps. I encouraged China to engage constructively with ILO.

I was also able to engage with representatives of China’s business community, and am encouraged to see Chinese companies and sectors embracing human rights standards for their operations and supply chains.

Given the many intersecting global crises facing the world today, including climate change, threats to peace and security and instability in the global economic system, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has a very important role to play as a key contributor in multilateral and regional fora.

We agreed to establish regular engagement between the UN Human Rights Office and the Government of China, including through an annual senior strategic meeting for discussion of issues of respective interest at national, regional, or global levels.

We also agreed to establish a working group to facilitate substantive exchanges and cooperation between my Office and the Government through meetings in Beijing and in Geneva, as well as virtual meetings. This working group will organize a series of follow-up discussions about specific thematic areas, including but not limited to development, poverty alleviation and human rights, rights of minorities, business and human rights, counter-terrorism and human rights, digital space and human rights, judicial and legal protection and human rights, as well as other issues raised by either side.

This will allow for structured engagement of my Office with China on a number of human rights issues. This is especially important as my Office does not have a country presence. The working group will also provide a space for us to bring to attention of the Government a number of specific matters of concern.

The Government has also stated that it will invite senior officials from the Office to visit China in the future.

I spoke to everyone I met in China – regional and national officials, civil society, academics, diplomats and others – with candour, with a sincere desire to make progress on the promotion and protection of human rights for all. I hope we can build on this open and frank approach to carry forward these exchanges in a meaningful and impactful way.