UN to debate human rights

The United Nations will take two days to focus on how to best ensure human rights in the face of rising terrorism, populism, state repression and other abuses of power, the president of the General Assembly said Monday.

Mogens Lykketoft said the high-level debate among 193-member states beginning Tuesday will focus on the relationship between development, peace, security and human rights.

“This event of course (is) taking place at a time when the values that underpin all the declarations and conventions on human rights … are under attack across the world,” Lykketoft said.

Panelists will include representatives from Human Rights Watch, Black Lives Matter and Reporters Without Borders, among others, he said.

He said the debate looks to reinforce the foundations needed to protect human rights, identify actions to improve peace and security, and assess how the U.N. can most effectively promote these goals.