US needs better leadership — UN rights chief

The UN Human Rights Council chief takes aim at President Donald Trump, saying the United States needs better leadership to meet challenges like surging xenophobia and religious discrimination.

In a keynote speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s main annual session, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein says he is “concerned by the new administration’s handling” of key issues.

“Greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities,” Zeid adds.

Zeid warns that Washington’s “vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims” as well as “false claims” about higher crime rates among migrants “fuel xenophobic abuses.”

And, taking direct aim at Trump personally, Zeid says he is “dismayed at attempts by the president to intimidate or undermine journalists and judges.”

— AFP