Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein chronicled a litany of human rights concerns worldwide, including “chilling indifference” among some leaders in the European Union toward migrants, a crackdown on lawyers and activists in China, and a new Russian law that may have been used “arbitrarily” to curb free expression. The US was among more than 40 countries examined in a wide-ranging speech on Wednesday, where the United Nations was warned that 2017 could prove to be a “pivotal year” for human rights amid terror attacks, security crackdowns, populism and the rise of “authoritarian-minded leaders”.

Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein chronicled a litany of human rights concerns worldwide, including “chilling indifference” among some leaders in the European Union toward migrants, a crackdown on lawyers and activists in China, and a new Russian law that may have been used “arbitrarily” to curb free expression. The US was among more than 40 countries examined in a wide-ranging speech on Wednesday, where the United Nations was warned that 2017 could prove to be a “pivotal year” for human rights amid terror attacks, security crackdowns, populism and the rise of “authoritarian-minded leaders”.