China Accuses UN Human Rights Head of Interfering

(Bloomberg) -- China expressed its “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to remarks on Hong Kong’s national security law by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.

Bachelet’s comments “grossly interfere in China’s sovereignty and internal affairs and violate the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” according to a statement by China’s permanent mission to the U.N. office in Geneva on Friday.

It urged the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights to “respect and support China’s efforts in safeguarding national security” in Hong Kong and to refrain from intervening in the affairs of Hong Kong and China.

Bachelet said on Friday that the draft law on national security for Hong Kong must fully comply with China’s human rights obligations and that her office was closely following developments, according to a report on the United Nations’ UN News website.

“Such laws can never be used to criminalize conduct and expression that is protected under international human rights law,” she said in the UN News report, adding that any law for Hong Kong must respect provisions of two international treaties - one on civil and political rights and another on economic, social and cultural rights.

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