UN Human Rights Chief Weighs in on US Election

In an unusual move, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad al-Hussein spoke out against a Trump presidency during a news conference in Geneva on October 12.  Speaking a few days after the 2d presidential debate where Trump threatened Clinton with jail time should he win the presidency, Mr. Hussein instead recalled candidate Trump’s statements about torture and immigration.  As Mr. Hussein explained, when an election could result in an increase in the use of torture “or the focus on vulnerable communities in a way that suggests that they may well be deprived of their human rights, then I think it is incumbent to say so.”  An audio version of the remarks is available here.  As noted on this site a few weeks ago, neither Trump nor Clinton has yet responded to Human Rights Watch’s candidate questionnaire concerning their positions on human rights issues.