Guterres Criticizes Russia’s Human Rights Violations

Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re looking at U.N. condemnation of “massive” human rights violations due to war in Ukraine, a reported Britain-EU deal on Northern Ireland, and protests in Mexico.

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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said during a speech in Geneva that Russia’s war in Ukraine triggered the “most massive violations of human rights” and that the invasion “unleashed widespread death, destruction, and displacement.”

Guterres pointed in particular to “attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure,” which, he said, “have caused many casualties and terrible suffering.”

He also cited cases of sexual violence, violations of prisoners’ rights, and arbitrary detention. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he said, has been “too often misused and abused,” saying, “Some governments chip away at it. Others use a wrecking ball.”

Russia has a permanent seat in and veto power on the U.N. Security Council and was taking part in a Security Council meeting when Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Russia’s war in Ukraine entered its second year last week. On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “We aren’t seeing any conditions for a peaceful settlement now.”

Explaining America’s trade policy. Join U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Foreign Policy Editor in Chief Ravi Agrawal on Wednesday, March 1, at 1 p.m. ET for a conversation on the Biden administration’s trade and economic policies and their global impact. Subscribers can submit questions in advance.

U.K. and EU reach Northern Ireland protocol deal. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reached a deal with the European Union over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland. Sunak said they agreed to remove “any sense of a border.” Sunak called it a “decisive breakthrough” and “the beginning of a new chapter.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer said his party will support the deal, which he says will bolster Britain’s international standing. It is not yet clear how much support Sunak will have from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and from Brexit hard-liners in his own Conservative Party. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly considering opposing the deal. However, former Prime Minister Theresa May called on her peers to support the deal, known as the Windsor Framework.

The Biden administration, which has repeatedly stressed that it opposes any moves that jeopardize the Good Friday Agreement, said it was “grateful” Britain and the European Union reached a deal.

Crowds march over electoral reform in Mexico. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest electoral reform in Mexico. The protesters, clad in white and pink, yelled, “Don’t touch my vote!” Critics of the changes say they threaten Mexico’s democracy. Once the changes, which passed last week, go into effect, funding for local election offices and training for citizens overseeing polling stations will be cut, and punishments for candidates who don’t report campaign spending will be reduced.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the changes are not a threat to democracy and that the money spent on elections should instead be spent on the poor. He said he will sign the changes into law, though judicial challenges are expected.

Israeli settlers retaliate, burning Palestinian homes and cars. After two Israelis were shot to death while driving through the West Bank, Israeli settlers entered the West Bank town of Hawara, where they threw rocks at houses and burned trees and cars. Nine families were evacuated. The Palestinian health ministry said one person was shot to death. Ninety-eight Palestinians were reportedly injured.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told settlers “not to take the law into their own hands” while opposition leader Yair Lapid said “Smotrich’s militias set out to burn Hawara” (referring to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to whom Netanyahu recently turned over civil authority of the West Bank despite reported warnings from the Biden administration).

The Biden administration said it expects Israel to “ensure full accountability and legal prosecution of those responsible for these attacks, in addition to compensation for the lost homes and property.”

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• To Save France, Macron Is Dividing Europe by Eoin Drea

Prague pangolin. A Chinese pangolin was born for the first time ever in Europe this month in a zoo in Prague. After a rough first few days (her mother wasn’t producing enough milk so she lost weight), she is now apparently doing well and has been dubbed “Little Cone.”