UN human rights chief slams sexist comments on his envoy

January 22, 2015 00:58

The UN human rights chief today slammed the insulting language used against his envoy in Myanmar as 'utterly unacceptable' and asked the Asian country's government to condemn the attacks.

"The sexist, insulting language used against the UN's independent human rights expert on Myanmar... is utterly unacceptable," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement.

UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Yanghee Lee was in Myanmar last week to highlight the plight of the Rohingya Muslims. During her visit, Buddhist nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu used abusive language against her.

"Don't assume you are a respectable person, just because you have a position in the UN...," the monk said, referring to Lee.

Wirathu has spent over a decade in prison for inciting violence against minority Muslims. The UN maintains that Muslims are persecuted in the Buddhist-majority country. Wirathu is a leader of 969 -- a movement which believes that Myanmar should remain a Buddhist country.

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