Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, announced that she will not be serving a second term due to personal reasons. Bachelet said the decision to leave was not a “visit to China”, which she also criticized many Western countries and various non-governmental organizations.
Bachelet announced her decision at the end of her speech at the 50th session of the Human Rights Council. “As my tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights comes to an end, the landmark fiftieth session of the Council will be my last,” Bachelet said.
Bachelet stated that his duty will end on August 1 and that he will not hold the post of high commissioner for another term, and that he will return to his country, Chile, to spend time with his family.
Bachelet stated that she took her decision two months ago and stated that she informed the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, whom she met in New York before her visit to China. Bachelet said she wanted the Secretary-General to stay in office for another term, but declined the offer for personal reasons.
“We will publish the China report before my term expires”
Bachelet, 70, has been criticized by rights groups and some Western governments, including the United States, who said the conditions Chinese officials brought to the visit did not allow for a full and independent assessment of the human rights environment.
Noting that his last official visit to China and his office’s report on the situation of Muslim minorities in Uyghur and Xinjiang has not yet been published, Bachelet said that the report is being updated and that he expects it to be published before his term ends.
Guterres: “He made a difference with his personal sacrifices”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a written statement after Bachelet announced that he would not continue as high commissioner for another term.
Guterres stated that Bachelet made a profound difference during her tenure and said, “I am deeply grateful to Michelle Bachelet for her uninterrupted service to the United Nations as High Commissioner for Human Rights. He has been at the forefront of the struggle for human rights throughout his life, with tremendous personal sacrifice from his early days in Chile. Michelle Bachelet has always lived and breathed human rights. She has made a profound difference to people around the world,” she said.
“Global insecurity is testing us all”
In his speech at the council session, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bachelet said that the global insecurity that has increased with the war in Ukraine is testing everyone. “We met at multilateral forums, high-level discussions and fundraisers to talk about global solutions and putting people at the center of our efforts. “We are committed to learning the lessons of the epidemic and healing better,” he said.
Bachelet stressed that all countries must abide by the climate commitments they made in Paris in 2015. Inviting countries to reach the “2030 Sustainable Development Goals” with a financing gap of approximately $4.3 trillion per year, Bachelet said, “We will not be able to achieve these goals without a significant increase in financial resources. The role of international financial institutions is critical in supporting debtor countries.” .
Bachelet noted that recent moves by some states in the US to consider restricting abortion pose a threat to human rights, with a disproportionate impact on women with limited resources. Noting that he welcomed the Colombian Constitutional Court’s recent decision to decriminalize abortion, Bachelet stated that there have been positive developments in this regard globally, including Argentina and Mexico.