Russia: Lavrov slams US for abusing human rights issues at the UN

The notion of human rights are often instrumentalised within the UN for inner-political objectives, especially by those condemning abuses of other countries on a regular basis such as the US government, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow on Monday. As examples he named Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, condemning the US government in the process. Speaking at the opening of the Moscow International Model United Nations (MIMUN) conference at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), Lavrov said solving human rights abuses requires the involvement of the respective government. The MIMUN conference is the Moscow branch of the Model UN, an educational and academic competition where students deal with the UN, international relations and diplomacy. University and high school students, who are selected through a prior application process, simulate the work of different UN bodies in a role-play manner. MIMUN 2015 started on April 19 and runs until April 24, 2015, hosting 12 commitees with 13 agendas in six languages.