Dharamsala, November 4 – The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has come under increasing criticism as rights groups questioned his commitment to defend human rights during a visit to China towards which he was believed to have been “too soft”.
Ban, who met with Chinese president Hu Jintao on Monday in Beijing failed to raise the issue of human rights, especially the case of jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo. Ban did not appeal for Liu’s release.
Some critics say that Ban who is nearing the completion of his five year term is careful not to disappoint China, a veto-wielding Security Council member that could end his hopes of a second term.
Ban’s spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said on Monday that human rights was not raised. However, issues including climate change, the Korean Peninsula and Africa were raised with President Hu.
But as the criticism has grown, the U.N. has added that Mr. Ban did raise the topic of human rights with “other Chinese leaders,” although his spokesman would not elaborate to reporters on who they were. “Sometimes when tackling the question of human rights, which is undoubtedly important, it is also important to do this in a well thought-out way. And sometimes that means it is not always played out as much as you would like, in the glare of publicity,” the spokesman said.
Philippe Bolopion, U.N. Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch, a New York based rights group, asks if the U.N. Secretary-General goes to China and does not mention human rights, then who will?
“In our view, the meeting that counts the most is the meeting with the president. And if as the U.N. Secretary-General during that meeting you don’t bring out the question of human rights, you are really failing the organization and failing people in China who are trying to defend human rights, and who have been under increasing pressure since the nomination of the Nobel Peace Prize,” said Philippe.
Human Rights Watch pointed out that Mr Ban had called for the release of the Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, just two days before arriving in China, but he didn’t do the same for Liu Xiaobo. He said Mr Ban’s silence had sent a chilling message to Chinese rights activists.
