UN rights chief slams ‘pernicious’ Security Council veto use

The outgoing UN human rights chief accuses the veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council of being second only to criminals who kill and maim when it comes to responsibility for some of the world’s most egregious rights violations.

Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein delivers one of the strongest and clearest denunciations yet from a top UN official about certain uses of the Security Council veto, which gives extraordinary powers to the five countries that wield it: Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.

Speaking to the Human Rights Council, Zeid doesn’t mention specific vetoes. But the comments are an unmistakable allusion to the war in Syria, over which Russia, a major backer of President Bashar Assad, and China have repeatedly used the veto to block efforts such as to hold war criminals to account or punish Assad’s government for alleged use of chemical weapons.

— AP