Geneva: The top UN human rights official called on the United States on Monday to halt its ‘unconscionable’ policy of forcibly separating children from migrant parents irregularly entering the country via Mexico.

Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his final speech to the UN Human Rights Council, also said that widespread violations continued in North Korea and against Rohingya in Myanmar. He accused China of preventing independent activists from testifying before UN rights bodies.

He urged the 47-member Geneva forum to set up international commissions on alleged violations in Venezuela and Nicaragua, receiving a standing ovation at the end of his lengthy remarks.