UN rights chief warns: Behind crises, people keep suffering

A woman searches through the burnt remains of her shelter at a displacement camp in Darfur, Sudan.

Eighty years after the United Nations was established to end war, uphold fundamental human rights, and promote justice and international law, those founding principles are increasingly under threat, the UN’s human rights chief warned on Monday.

“We are on an indefensible path of escalating conflict and open disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law,” said Volker Türk, addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Offering a global overview, he painted a stark picture of a world in crisis—with surging armed conflict, deepening climate disruption, emerging technological threats, and a worrying rise in authoritarianism.

Spiraling conflicts

Conflicts around the world are spiraling, as civilians are deliberately attacked and starvation and rape are used as weapons of war by parties. Yet, “accountability is often absent,” said Mr. Türk, who heads the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

From Ukraine to Myanmar, conflicts are plunging countries deeper into chaos and lawlessness.

In Sudan, the number of arbitrary killings of civilians as rival militaries battle for control tripled between February and April, OHCHR reports.

In Gaza, “Israel has weaponized food and blocked lifesaving aid,” Mr. Türk continued, calling for an “immediate ceasefire leading to a two-State solution, with Gaza as an integral part of a Palestinian State.”

Describing the military escalation between Israel and Iran as “deeply worrying,” Mr. Türk appealed “for de-escalation and urgent diplomatic negotiations to end these attacks and find a way forward.”

“This violence must end,” he said.

Civil society under attack

Around the world, at least 625 human rights defenders and media workers were killed or disappeared in 2024, OHCHR has reported.

“That is one every 14 hours,” the human rights chief said.

In many places, civil society and the media are being vilified, harassed, and silenced; yet it is civil society and the media who play a vital role in holding power to account.

As investigating and reporting human rights abuses are necessary tools to mitigate conflict and build peace, Mr. Türk said he was “deeply disturbed” by attacks on international institutions, including the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Sanctioning judges and prosecutors at national, regional, or international levels for doing their jobs is an assault on the rule of law and corrodes justice,” he said.

Persecuted minorities

From anti-immigrant rhetoric to hate speech targeting the LGBTIQ+ community, one in five people across 119 countries reported experiencing discrimination in the past year, OHCHR said.

“Discrimination is neither rare nor random; it is widespread,” said Mr. Türk.

For instance, data gathered by the UN shows that women face discrimination at more than double the level experienced by men.

Highlighting the war on women and girls in Afghanistan, the de facto authorities continue to enforce a systematic policy of erasing women and girls from public life, he continued.

In these troubled times, “we need governments and societies to stand up for human rights, in word and deed,” concluded Mr. Türk.