UN rights chief worried by ‘fundamental shift’ in US direction under Trump

Volker Turk tells the UN Human Rights Council that policies meant to support marginalised radical are being called ‘discriminatory’.

The United Nations quality rights main has expressed heavy interest astir a “fundamental displacement successful direction” by the United States nether President Donald Trump, informing that divisive rhetoric is being utilized to deceive and polarise people.

“We person enjoyed bipartisan enactment from the US connected quality rights implicit galore decades. … I americium present profoundly disquieted by the cardinal displacement successful absorption that is taking spot domestically and internationally,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council connected Monday successful Geneva, Switzerland, during a code that did not notation Trump by name.

“Policies intended to support radical from favoritism are present labelled arsenic discriminatory. … Divisive rhetoric is being utilized to distort, deceive and polarise. This is generating fearfulness and anxiousness among many,” helium added successful his strongest remarks truthful acold connected the interaction of the caller US administration’s policies.

Since taking bureau connected January 20, Trump has issued a bid of executive orders aimed astatine dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programmes crossed the national government. Many backstage US companies person followed suit.

Trump besides paused US Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes for 90 days portion his medication reviews if they align with his “America first” policy.

Last week, the Trump medication announced it was cancelling astir 10,000 overseas assistance grants and contracts worthy astir $60bn, accounting for nearly 90 percent of USAID’s enactment internationally.

The president has besides disengaged the US from respective planetary bodies and agreements, including the Human Rights Council, World Health Organization and the Paris clime agreement.

Turk condemned Trump’s assignment of tech billionaire Elon Musk arsenic caput of his Department of Government Efficiency.

Without referring to him by name, Turk expressed interest implicit the increasing power wielded by “a fistful of unelected tech oligarchs” who are privy to people’s data.

Turk warned that those tech tycoons “know wherever we live, what we do, our genes and our wellness conditions, our thoughts, our habits, our desires and our fears”.

“They cognize america amended than we cognize ourselves, and they cognize however to manipulate us,” helium said, informing that unregulated powerfulness tin pb to “oppression, subjugation and adjacent tyranny: the playbook of the autocrat”.

The UN rights main urged countries to support their citizens from unchecked powerfulness and “work together”.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies