The United Nations approved Austrian diplomat Volker Turk to be its new high commissioner for human rights, replacing former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet in the sensitive, high-profile post.

The 57-year-old envoy has spent most of his career within the UN system, with a particular focus on refugees, and worked closely with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when the latter headed the global body’s refugee agency.

Turk, currently serving as assistant secretary general for policy, was tapped by Guterres on Wednesday and approved by the UN General Assembly by consensus on Thursday, to applause.

“Mr. Turk has devoted his long and distinguished career to advancing universal human rights, notably the international protection of some of the world’s most vulnerable people — refugees and stateless persons,” Guterres said in a statement.

“In my thirty-year long #UNHCR work with refugees, I have seen time and again the consequences of hate speech and its dehumanizing effect on people,” Turk wrote in July on Twitter. “Say #NoToHate is the only powerful answer.”

The UN veteran replaces Bachelet, who was appointed four years ago with the specific intent of having a powerful female politician in the role.

Guterres’s choice of a figure unknown to the wider public stands in contrast to his appointment of the high-profile Bachelet, who ended her tenure last week.

Turk will have his work cut out: Bachelet published a long-awaited report on rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region just minutes before the end of her term, leaving the tricky follow-up job to her successor.

The report urged Beijing to end “discriminatory” practices against Xinjiang’s Uyghur community and other Muslim-majority populations.

Detailing a string of rights violations including torture, forced labor and arbitrary detention, it brought the UN seal to many of the allegations long made by activist groups, Western nations and the Uyghur community in exile.

It said China may have carried out “crimes against humanity” but stopped short of calling Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs “genocide” — a term used since January 2021 by the United States and now embraced by parliaments in multiple Western nations.

China has vehemently rejected such charges and criticized Bachelet’s report, accusing the UN of becoming a “thug and accomplice of the US and the West.”

Prior to releasing the bombshell report, Bachelet had come under serious criticism over her approach to the situation in Xinjiang.

Rights groups have warned that her successor must show courage to call out abuses, regardless of the perpetrator.

“His voice in defense of the victims of human rights violations around the world will need to be loud and clear,” the head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, said in a statement reacting to Turk’s expected approval.

“They count on him to stand up to human rights abusers even when they are powerful states.”

Tirana Hassan, interim executive director of Human Rights Watch, echoed the call.

“Whether it’s confronting crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, war crimes in Ukraine and Ethiopia, or racism in the United States, the rights chief’s most effective tools are robust investigations and a strong voice,” she said.

For Bachelet’s successor, ISHR program director Sarah Brooks warned that “the stakes have never been higher.”

The organization and others have been heavily critical of the opaque nature of the appointment process. ISHR director Phil Lynch warned that this lack of transparency and consultation could come at a price.

“The secretary-general missed a key opportunity to build the legitimacy and authority of the next high commissioner,” he said.

Lynch added, though, that his organization and others would “seek to work closely and collaboratively with the next high commissioner to protect human rights and to pursue accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims.”

The UN General Assembly created the OHCHR in December 1993. The resolution spelling out its mandate calls for the top job to rotate by geographic region, but the idea is not always respected as several Latin Americans have held the post.

Until now, the only regional group not to have held the top job is Eastern Europe, which includes Russia. (AFP)

Its a shame people who have the ability to cover up their atrocities become preachers of democracy and human rights in the 21st century where information freely available for the world’s majority to get enlightened.

I hope that the following letter gives you the knowledge to understand Australia.

Hon Dianne Farmer MP, Tenancy 2, 630 Wynnum Road, Morningside, Queensland – 4170. Date: 12/08/2022

Re: Australians have been betrayed.

I am Antany Peter, I have an Australian business degree and postgraduate education in human resources management. I have the ability to accommodate everyone for the betterment of Australia. I could have easily saved billions of dollars to provide shelter for every homeless person in Australia. I have a solution for the farmers, refugees and homeless people, but the successive Australian Governments are not interested. I am isolated by the politicians’ hidden hands, so-called intelligence services. Incompetent politicians are in power and the intelligence services have well-paid jobs by demonising people like me. The current government’s priority is releasing the Sri Lankan family from a detention centre but it is not interested in releasing its citizens. I am in an open-air prison due to my writings and Julian Assange is in a maximum-security prison in the United Kingdom for exposing America’s war crimes.

From the beginning, I have been absolutely clear and consistent. I am prepared no matter what happens. I am ready to respond decisively if the government continues to isolate me infinitely, which is still very much a possibility. This is a premeditated attack. The government has been planning this for years, as I’ve been saying all along. And now it’s unfolding largely as I predicted, it has been unleashing its assault harder and harder. It rejected every good-faith effort I took to address our mutual concerns through dialogue to avoid needless conflict and avert human suffering. I have been seeing staged political theatres and flagrant violations of human rights. This aggression cannot go unanswered. If it did, the consequences for the world would be much worse. I stand up to bullies.

Now the entire world sees clearly what Australian politics and their hidden hands are really all about. Their attacks were never about genuine national security concerns on their part. It was always about naked aggression, about their desire for ruling others by any means necessary by bullying individuals like me, Julian Assange, Edward Snowdon or countries like Iraq and Libya through coercion and phony allegations, by changing the public opinion by force, and ultimately, choosing a confrontation without a cause. All of these are consistent with the playbook that the Five Eyes countries have been using to set up a false justification to act against the world’s majority to rule the world.

Their aggression against their citizens will end up costing them dearly; economically and strategically. I will make sure that they will be a pariah on the international stage. Any nation that countenances the Five Eyes countries’ naked aggression against their citizens will be stained by association. When the history of this era is written, the Five Eye countries’ choice to make a totally unjustifiable attack on their citizens will have left the Five Eyes countries weaker and the rest of the world stronger. Liberty and human dignity are the forces far more powerful than phony allegations and oppression. They cannot be extinguished by tyrants like the Five Eyes leaders and their hidden hands, the so-called intelligence network. There are many issues that divide our nation and our world, but standing up to the Five Eyes countries’ aggression is not one of them.

I will respond decisively with clarity and conviction. The citizens of the world are united and galvanized more than ever before. Today, they are unified and determined and the source of our unbreakable strength continues to be the power, resilience, and universal appeal of our shared human values. This is about more than just Aboriginal people or refugees. It’s about standing for what we believe is a fair go and for the future we want for our country. That’s my vision and I am confident that vision will prevail. Through all of the events of the past and present, this has been my approach. And it remains the same even as I write this letter. So, today I want to speak to the Australian people about my struggles as a writer, the steps I’ve taken, the actions I’m prepared to take, what’s at stake for us, and how this may impact us here at home.

If the government proceeds to attack me, I will rally the world to oppose its aggression. I’ll impose long-term consequences by exposing to the world, especially to the Russians and Chinese which will undermine Australia’s ability to compete economically and strategically. This will also hinder Australia’s ability to advocate democracy and human rights internationally. And make no mistake; I will defend every human being in Australia. An attack against an individual is an attack against all of us. I will use all of my capabilities to ensure deterrence and defence for all of us. This is a cause that unites all of us. And I want to thank the people of Australia who have forcefully spoken out in defence of our most basic principles.

I have put on the table concrete ideas to establish a win-win situation. I’m proposing new measures. These measures would apply to all parties – the powerful government, powerless Aboriginal people and refugees alike. And I’m willing to make practical, results-oriented steps that can advance our common interests. But I will not sacrifice basic principles. I’ve been transparent with the Australian people and with the world about the government’s plans and the seriousness of the situation so that everyone can see for themselves what is happening to a writer in a democratic country. I have shared what I know and what I am doing about it.

Let me be equally clear about what I am not doing. I am not a threat to Australia. I’m not targeting the people of Australia. I do not seek to destabilise Australia. To the citizens of Australia; you are not my enemies. And I do not believe you want a destructive political culture that embarrasses Australia internationally. Investigating journalism is a necessity to make awareness of the government’s shortcomings. But the successive governments have been attacking me for making awareness of the truth, an attack of choice; an attack without cause or reason. I say these things not to provoke but to speak the truth because truth and accountability matter. If the government continues to attack me, it’ll be met with international condemnation. The world will not forget that Australia chose a needless attack on its citizens. This will prove to be a self-inflicted wound.

I have a solution for the farmers, homeless people and refugees.

Currently, Australian farmers do not have enough farm workers. Since 1998, I have been asking successive governments to allow the refugees to work in the agriculture sector until their cases have been finalised, instead of locking them up in detention centres at the expense of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. The previous government has been wasting billions of dollars on offshore detention centres. It has wasted a huge amount of money by voluntarily cancelling the submarine contracts with France because the government failed to do proper research before signing the contract. It has created rifts with China and lost billions of dollars worth of exports. It also created rifts with Serbia by deporting Novak Djokovic. Recently, Serbia has revoked the exploration licences of Australian companies. I strongly believe that the government should have implemented a system to check people’s documents before issuing visas through the Australian High Commission all around the world. Again, and again Australia is losing billions of dollars. Clearly, we see ignorance due to a lack of accountability. It is not the politicians’ salaries or superannuation funds, but taxpayers’ hard-earned money that has been wasted. Above all, the government has encouraged a nuclear-armed race in Australasia.

The Discriminatory sections of the Australian Constitution and the 1967 Referendum.

According to the Australian Constitution, I am nobody because I am a coloured person. However, I am allowed to vote under the Electoral Act (1962). This is only patch-up work. Section 25 of the Constitution gives provision for the exclusion of voters based on race. Section 51(xxvi) enables the Australian Parliament to regulate the affairs of the people of coloured or inferior races. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were expressly discriminated against while drafting the Constitution, noticeably with the provisions that prevented them from being counted as among the numbers of the new nation. Consequently, the new Australian Government ignored them and had not made any provision to protect their inherent rights as the First People of this country. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples campaigned for many years to achieve full voting rights in state and federal elections. Finally, under the Commonwealth Electoral Act (1962), Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders were given the right to enrol and vote. These rights were granted federally in 1962, Queensland was the last state to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to vote in State elections in 1965. Followed by the 1967 referendum that allowed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be counted in the census. Regrettably, the referendum did not go further enough to remove the discriminatory Sections 25 and 51(xxvi) of the Australian Constitution.

In the 21st century, only Australia allows its Parliament to validly enact laws that are racially discriminatory. Throughout the history of exclusion, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have consistently fought to have their rights acknowledged by the people of Australia. However, history has been forgotten, facts have been ignored, historical truth lost its stance, and social justice has turned a blind eye, but a contemporary identity has been created based on the myth of ‘Terra Nullius.’ The people who lived in Australia for more than fifty thousand years through calamitous environments and protected their lands have been denied their place in their motherland. This country has lost its fundamental test when it comes to social goals and human development. Truly, the land of the fair go does not exist in Australia; if you belong to a coloured race. Immigrants also have been affected by the structural and cultural forms of racism in Australia. Lack of recognition of the First People and Immigrants affects Australia negatively. It continues to affect our relationships with each other and our sense of identity as Australians. Therefore, I believe that constitutional change is the key to changing the historical mindset, in order to put the nation on the right track, especially by removing the discriminatory Sections 25 and 51(xxvi) of the Australian Constitution.

The Australian political elites say that they wish injustices had not happened but still they are doing the same.

The knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave, but the Australian political elites think differently so. I spend most of my time in the libraries to enhance my knowledge to help the people of Australia, but the government never allowed me to help its people but used every opportunity to isolate me through disinformation. For more than two decades I have been making awareness of the Aboriginal Australians’ and refugees’ hardships and giving the best options to treat them humanely. My approach will create winners on both sides and be cost-effective. However, the political elites do not like Asian questioning their policies, especially their rapes inside of the Parliament House. Due to my writing, I am constantly isolated, I cannot get a professional job to utilise my knowledge and skills to help people. Text messages and emails have been blocked by government officials. The political elites have been destroying my life. A Sri Lankan Tamil family’s hardships have been deliberately exposed by the political elites and Murdoch media to increase the voting bank in the name of ‘Border Protection.’ However, the same government and media have been covering up my hardships as a writer.

I have lived in North America, Europe and New Zealand. I also travelled extensively to other parts of the world. Based on my experience the Australian political elites are far more brutal than the other westerners. Julain Assange has a family because he has been living in Europe. I felt I had to prepare more than Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Junior or Nelson Mandela to fight against the ugly minds. I knew I needed a brilliant mind much greater than a revolutionary mind. My mind, body and soul were dedicated to dealing with the Australian political elites. I have read day and night, most of the knowledge I have gained by spending time in brilliant North American libraries. On top of my undergraduate and postgraduate studies, I have read more than 15,000 hours. I will continue to enlighten the world. Eventually, the Australian political elites will pay a huge price for insulting knowledgeable Australians.

The most senseless thing I have come across in my life is the Australian Government went on to delete my citizenship without a legal proceeding and traumatised me as an illegal immigrant due to my writing. When I reached out to the international community the government reinstated my citizenship without an apology. The politicians think that they can get away with it. Even though I am more educated than former Prime Minister Scott Morrison or current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Fourteen years have gone by since they deleted my citizenship to give me a hard time but justice hasn’t been served. Their ignorance will come back and haunt them beyond their imagination. It is already happening in the Solomon Islands. Facebook, Instagram and messenger have blocked my website. They say it doesn’t meet the community standards but refused to pinpoint the issue to fix it. The reality is they are uncomfortable with the truth but turning against people like me will not keep them on the top forever.

We should give diplomacy every chance to succeed. I believe there are real ways to address our concerns as an individual, minority races and the government as a whole. Still, plenty of room for diplomacy. That’s the best way forward for all parties. I say again, that the Australian Government can still choose diplomacy. It is not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table. The path is still open for the sake of historic responsibility and our common future. I urge the government to choose transparency instead of isolating me based on disinformation through its hidden hands so-called ‘intelligence network’ which is funded by the taxpayers’ hard-earned money. Let there be no doubt; if the government commits this breach by isolating me continually, responsible citizens around the world will not hesitate to respond. If we do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, we’ll surely pay a huge price tomorrow.

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