United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has praised the vibrancy of civil society in India, highlighting that it continues to play a key role in upholding the country’s democratic traditions and the rights of minorities. At the same time, while presenting his global update to the ongoing 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last week, Turk slammed Pakistan and China for the worrisome human rights situation that exists in the countries. The UN Human Rights chief was in New Delhi last month on his first visit to India during the AI Impact Summit. In his statement, Turk mentioned that during his recent trip to India, he was impressed by the vibrancy of civil society. He said it is important for civic space to be vigorously defended and for civil society to be able to do its work without hindrance. Turk was, meanwhile, critical of Pakistan, where two human rights lawyers have been sentenced to a combined total of 17 years’ imprisonment recently. In his statement, Turk also urged the Chinese authorities to stop using vague criminal, administrative and national security provisions to suppress the peaceful exercise of fundamental rights in the country.