West OC Times

Following the announcement that China, Cuba, and Vietnam will remain on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Representative Michelle Steel has urged the United Nations to remove these nations from the council. Steel argues that these countries are among the world's worst human rights violators.

In her letter to the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Steel criticized the decision to allow these countries, which she claims persecute religious and ethnic minorities, human rights defenders, and journalists, to have a role in addressing global human rights issues.

“We should not allow the world’s worst human rights abusers to participate in a body that is intended to address global human rights abuses. The UN Human Rights Council must immediately expel the Chinese Communist Party, the Communist Party of Cuba, and the Communist Party of Vietnam,” wrote Rep. Michelle Steel.

Steel represents a district with a significant Vietnamese population and cited examples of Vietnam's government suppressing free expression and mistreating refugees as reasons for their exclusion from human rights discussions.

“In Vietnam, the Communist Party arbitrarily detains, arrests, threatens, surveils, and interrogates individuals on account of their religious beliefs. Detainees in Vietnam face torture, inhuman treatment, denial of justice, long prison terms, forced labor, and medical neglect,” added Rep. Steel.

The full letter can be viewed through provided channels.