United Nations, Sep 21 (AP) US President Joe Biden said the United States supports protests in Iran that sprung up in recent days after a 22-year-old woman died while being held by the morality police for violating the country's strictly enforced Islamic dress code.

Speaking to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Biden said: “Today we stand with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran, who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights.”

Also Read | Instagram Disrupted Across Iran Amid Protests Over Death of Woman Detained by Morality Police.

Biden also explicitly called out human rights abuses by China, Burma and the Taliban in his remarks, saying, “The United States will always promote human rights and the values enshrined in the UN Charter in our own country and around the world.”

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It has been three decades since the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. And the UN's top officials say it's never been more pressing to uphold its ideals than now.

The UN secretary-general and the president of the General Assembly convened a high-level meeting Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary and exhort members to renew efforts to protect and include minorities.

In his opening remarks, the president of the General Assembly said that 75% of the known stateless population across the world belonged to minority groups and more than 70% of the targets of hate speech or crimes are minorities. Csaba Korösi said the point of the meeting was not just to cast blame — but to find solutions.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed the remarks, stressing that countries that protect minority rights are more peaceful and prosperous. He also noted how the coronavirus pandemic laid bare stark inequalities.

Iraqi human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad also spoke, using the plight of her Yazidi people to describe the importance of minority rights.

The meeting was expected to take much of the day, with more than 80 speakers on the roster for the general debate.

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Rwandan President Paul Kagame has called accusations lobbed by neighbouring Congo a “blame game” that does not solve the region's problems.

Congo alleges that Rwanda is providing support to the M23 rebel movement, which reemerged last November after remaining mostly dormant for a decade. The rebels' clashes with the Congolese military have killed hundreds and forced some 200,000 people to flee their homes.

Congo's president reiterated those accusations at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing M23, and on Wednesday Kagame said Congo was responsible for cross-border attacks that were “entirely preventable”.

“In eastern (Congo), recent setbacks have served to highlight that the security situation is fundamentally no different than it was 20 years ago when the largest and most expensive United Nations peacekeeping mission was first deployed,” Kagame told UN the General Assembly. (AP)

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