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HRC52: Denmark adresses Russia, Belarus, China, DPRK, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Israel/oPt under item 4 General Debate.

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
52nd session
Item 4: General Debate
Intervention by Denmark

Mr. President, allow me first to fully align with the statement made by the EU.
We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We are deeply disturbed by Russia’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. The acts committed by Russian forces are unspeakable.
We strongly deplore the sentencing, in absentia, of Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya., and other opposition members by Belarusian authorities. These trials have no legitimacy. We must continue the work to hold the regime accountable, including through the OHCHR and the International Accountability Platform for Belarus.
The situation in China remains very concerning. Serious violations are taking place in Xinjiang, according to the OHCHR. Yet, a separate debate in this forum on this situation was rejected. In Hong Kong, people are tried under national security law for exercising their fundamental freedoms. In Tibet, the UN reports of children being separated from their families. We reiterate our call on China to abide by its obligations and to work with the OHCHR.
We are deeply concerned by the gross and systematic human rights violations in the DPRK and we call on DPRK to fully implement the recommendations of this Council.
We strongly condemn the disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters, leading to loss of hundreds of lives, mass arrests as well as executions in Iran. And we call on Iran to immediately release all arbitrarily detained persons. 
We condemn the continued use of death penalty and torture in Saudi Arabia.
We call on Bahrain to release the arbitrarily detained persons without further delay, including the Danish-Bahraini citizen, Mr. Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.
We continue to oppose Israel’s illegal settlement expansion, demolition and evictions in the oPt, firmly condemn settler violence and call for accountability. We urge the Palestinian authorities to ensure respect for human rights in areas under its control.
Thank you.