Sri Lanka has signed a joint statement initiated by China, raising concerns on the human rights situation in the UK.
The joint statement was delivered during the 47th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“I have the honor to speak on behalf of a group of countries. We express our deep concerns on the human rights situation in the United Kingdom. Severe systemic racism, racial discrimination, hate speech, xenophobia and related violence have long been existing in the United Kingdom,” the Chinese delegation in Geneva said after delivering the statement.
China said the discriminatory actions are toxic residues of colonialism and trade in enslaved Africans in UK’s history.
The delegation said that a number of Special Procedures have expressed their concerns, but the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, which was set up by the UK Government, is trying to deny the facts. UK military service men have committed killings of civilians in overseas operations but are at large to this day.
The UK has been accused of trying to shield them from due accountability by way of legislation.
“The migrant detention centers in the UK are operating under poor conditions and the rights of migrants are severely violated. In addition, the UK spread disinformation and provoked confrontation out of political purposes, using human rights as a pretext to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs. Politicized acts as such have seriously undermined international human rights cooperation and are deeply concerning,” the Chinese delegation said.
The joint statement signed by China, Belarus, Bolivia, DPRK, Iran, Russia, Sri Lanka, Syria and Venezuela urged the UK Government to face up to its human rights problems, immediately stop all human rights violations, address the root cause of racial discrimination and hate crime, and carry out thorough and impartial investigations into cases of unlawful killings of civilians and other crimes, bring the perpetrators to justice and provide victims with remedies.
The signatories also called on the Human Rights Council to look into human rights violations in the UK and take necessary steps to monitor actions of the UK Government to correct its mistakes. (Colombo Gazette)
