Less than a week after finishing her job as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to put an end to “the armed attack on Ukraine”and called for the demilitarization of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which had been bombed several times.

Bachelet briefly referred to the conflict in Ukraine during his end-of-term press conference. “I ask the Russian president to put an end to the armed attack on Ukraine”, he said, while he said that “the Central Zaporizhia must be demilitarized immediately”.

Bachelet, who will leave the post at the end of the month, explained that his services have paid off at least 5,587 civilians killed and 7,890 wounded since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine six months ago. Of all those victims, about 1,000 were children.

“Yesterday six months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. An incredibly terrifying six months for the Ukrainian people, in which 6.8 million people had to flee their country. Millions more were internally displaced. “said the former Chilean president.

“Six months later, the fighting continues, with inconceivable risks for civilians and the environment, due to hostilities near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant”, of which Russia and Ukraine have accused each other, Bachelet complained.

The High Commissioner asked both sides to respect “international law at all times and in all circumstances”.

And he stressed that “the international community must insist on the principle of responsibility“on the numerous documented serious crimes, some of which could fall into the category of war crimes.

Bachelet said it do not seek a new mandate for personal reasons and why she wants to return to Chile, where she has been president twice.

The office of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has not indicated who Bachelet’s successor might be. The choice should be approved by the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Often these appointments are made by acclamation in the assemblywhich could be a difficult task in times of polarization.

Bachelet has often been criticized for being too soft on governments, especially China, and many saw her appointment in 2018 as a sign of a new tactic by Guterres to work more with leaders, not against them. .

The current state of the China report

During his presentation, Bachelet on Thursday suggested that his office may not deliver on its promise to publish the long-awaited one report on the Chinese region of Xinjiang when his term expires on August 31st.

Independent human rights groups have accused Beijing of calling what they are actually detention centers for Uyghurs and other minority groups. Some countries, including the United States, accuse Beijing of committing genocide in Xinjiang.

“Try harder,” tweeted John Fisher, director of Human Rights Watch in Geneva, after listening to his press conference. “Anything less would be a disgrace to your office and a betrayal of the victims.”

The final months of Bachelet’s tenure were overshadowed by long delays in the publication of the Xinjiang report, which many diplomats in Geneva believed was nearly complete a year ago.

“We are working on the report,” he said. “I did any intention to publish it before the expiry of my mandateand we’re trying. ”

Bachelet said his office, as is common practice, has informed China of its “discoveries”‘and officials responded with a “substantial” number of comments.

Source: AFP