UN rights chief: China, White House seem 'hostile' on rights

GENEVA – The U.N. human rights chief says China's Communist Party has taken a "hostile position" on the universality of human rights, and says "the rhetoric from the White House" is heading in the same direction.

In a broad-ranging interview published Monday, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein also told French Catholic daily La Croix that Europe is facing a "crisis of identity and integration policy."

While acknowledging governments must protect their people, he said: "We're worried about the tendency of authorities in Europe to overreact after terrorist attacks."

Zeid pointed to bright spots in the human-rights fight, like a U.N. tribunal's conviction of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic for genocide.

He also defended the U.N. and said his office's budget equaled "one-tenth of what the Swiss spend on chocolate every year."