UN condemns Burma's human rights, 'unfair' elections
Saturday, 20 November 2010
NEW YORK, Nov 19 (BBC): A UN human rights committee has condemned Burma's recent elections, saying they were neither free nor fair.
The committee said it "deeply regretted" that the ruling junta had not taken steps to ensure the process was "transparent and inclusive".
But China defended Burma, saying "finger pointing" would not advance human rights in the country.
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was not released from house arrest until after the election.
She had urged her supporters to boycott the polls but has since said she is willing to meet the country's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, to work towards national reconciliation. The UN committee welcomed her release and called on the junta to take up her offer of talks on moving towards democracy. The resolution - sponsored by the EU, US and other Western nations - also strongly condemned the "ongoing systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms" in Burma.
The committee said it "deeply regretted" that the ruling junta had not taken steps to ensure the process was "transparent and inclusive".
But China defended Burma, saying "finger pointing" would not advance human rights in the country.
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was not released from house arrest until after the election.
She had urged her supporters to boycott the polls but has since said she is willing to meet the country's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, to work towards national reconciliation. The UN committee welcomed her release and called on the junta to take up her offer of talks on moving towards democracy. The resolution - sponsored by the EU, US and other Western nations - also strongly condemned the "ongoing systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms" in Burma.