UN rights chief voices concern on civil society restrictions in China, Russia

The U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday condemned governments, including China and Russia, for restrictions on civil society in a speech which also included criticism of some Western states for their records on poverty and police violence.

The highly-anticipated speech is Turk's most comprehensive address to the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council since he took office in October and is being closely watched by diplomats and rights groups to see what he will prioritise.

Austria's Turk said his main message to governments was to listen to people, victims and human rights defenders. "Harsh restriction of the civic space is the Achilles heel - the fatal weakness - of governance," he said, in an address where he specifically mentioned incidents in China and Russia.