Speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council In Geneva, Volker Türk stressed that International human rights and humanitarian law “are our pillars against unbridled power.”
Speaking midway through his four-year term, Mr. Türk moved away from his usual country-specific overview and instead offered broader thoughts on the current human rights situation.
Select path
“It seems to me we are at a crossroads,” he said. speak.
“We can continue on our current path — a dangerous ‘new normal’ — and go into a dark future. Or we can wake up and change things for the better.for humanity and the planet.”
Against endless escalation
The new normal, he said, “cannot be endless, brutal military escalation and increasingly horrific and technologically ‘advanced’ methods of war, control and repression.”
Nor can it mean “remaining indifferent to deepening inequalities within and between countries”.
“It cannot be the free flow of misinformation, the suppression of truth, and the ability to make free and informed choices.. Harsh words and simplistic edits, removing context, nuance, and empathy. Paving the way for hate speech and the dire consequences that inevitably follow,” he added.
Another option
Moreover, “the ‘new normal’ cannot be one of national sovereignty being distorted to cover up – or excuse – horrific violations. Nor of the discrediting of multilateral institutions or of efforts to rewrite international rules, eroding globally agreed norms.”
Asserting that “this cannot be the world we want”, Mr Türk said “we can and must make a different choice” by reconnecting with humanity, nature and our shared planet.
“In other words, we can choose to move in the direction of human rights and the common values that we all share,” he said.
Leadership crisis
Mr. Türk told the Council that “Human rights are not in crisis. But political leadership is needed to make them a reality.“ .
“In every region of the world, we see deep-seated power dynamics at play to seize or maintain power, at the expense of universal human rights,” he said.
For example, despite advances in women’s rights, “the shadow of patriarchy remains” and there have been alarming regressions on gender equality issues, with Afghanistan being the most extreme case.
Migrants as scapegoats
Societies continue to face racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, he added, “underpinned by entrenched power structures, vested interests, institutional inertia and harmful stereotypes, often rooted in the legacy of colonialism and slavery”.
“Then there are politicians, amplified by some media, who blame migrants, refugees and minorities, as we saw, for example, during the election periods in Shirt, France, Virtue, Hungarythe United Kingdom and USAto cite a few examples,” he said.
Mr Türk also warned of the threat posed by “improperly or inadequately regulated digital technologies”, including the exploitation of personal data.
Human rights must be “central” to governance efforts, he said, as well as efforts to prevent online violence, disinformation, hate speech and incitement to hatred.
A boy with the word “freedom” written in Bengali on his cheek is held by an adult during a recent protest in Bangladesh.
The Power of Human Rights
While pointing out how entrenched power structures and misuse of power have negatively impacted human rights, Mr. Turk also spoke of how “human rights are regulators and correctors of power dynamics gone awry.”
He cited the recent situation in Bangladeshwhere “the student movement carried the torch of human rights”.
The High Commissioner said his Office, OHCHRis supporting new authorities there, including conducting an independent inquiry into recent alleged violations, accountability, reconciliation and healing processes, and other essential reforms.
Advice for voters
With many countries holding elections this year, Mr Türk has advice for people to vote.
“I urge all voters to remember the issues that matter most to them – whether it is housing, education for their children, health or work, justice, family and loved ones, the environment, freedom from violence, tackling corruption, being heard. These are all human rights issues,” he said.
War in Sudan
Mr. Türk also recalled that this year marks the 75thth commemorates the four Geneva Conventions, which outline the laws of war, while United Nations Charterwith the promise to “save future generations from the scourge of war” adopted nearly 80 years ago.
“But here we are,” he observed. “With a myriad of red lines intersecting, or a willingness to run straight into them.”
Sudan “is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian and protection crises, driven by persistent impunity, a perfect storm of unequal power struggles, competing economic interests and the exploitation of ethnic tensions,” he said.
He said an estimated 20,000 people had died and “the world cannot let this continue”.
A family in Gaza moves to the destroyed wasteland.
Fears of conflict in Gaza
“We know that war will spread to future generations, feeding recurring cycles of hatred if their causes remain unresolved. Sadly, war in Gaza Strip is a prime example,” he continued.
He told the Council that ending the war and preventing a full-blown conflict in the region was an absolute and urgent priority.
“Similarly, the broader illegal situation throughout the occupied Palestinian territory stems from Israeli policies and practices, as has been clearly stated by International Court of Justice (International Court of Justice) in the Advisory Opinion in July must be addressed comprehensively,” he said.
He stressed that nations must not – cannot – accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding United Nations resolutions. Security Council and the order of the International Court of Justice.
Concerns for Ukraine
The human rights chief also referred to the conflict in Ukraine, where “ordinary people are trapped in a spiral of terror through the Russian Federation’s continued attacks”.
Civilian facilities, such as schools and hospitals, have been attacked, and energy infrastructure has also been targeted, and he expressed fears about the coming winter.
Crisis in Myanmar
Meanwhile, “Myanmar crisis continues to spiral into inhumanity,” he said, pointing to recent airstrikes, mass arrests and continuing reports of extrajudicial killings, amid worsening impunity.
“Civilians are paying the highest price, with the highest number of civilian casualties reported since the current crisis began in 2021, and the Rohingya community violently cornered in northern Rakhine state with nowhere safe to go,” he said.
In many such situations, even minimal humanitarian aid to civilians is exploited, diverted or blocked, as is access to human rights monitors, he added.
“For those of us who do this work, it feels like we are standing on the riverbank watching people drown, with life preservers piled up at our feet,” he said.
Reminder of the obligations of nations
Mr. Türk reminded the Council that States have designed international human rights and humanitarian law to preserve and ensure our common humanity.
“These norms are our mainstay against unchecked power,” he said.
He stressed that all parties to the conflict and other countries, especially those with influence, must do everything possible to end the violations.
“A concrete action is that States, in accordance with their obligations under the Geneva Conventions and human rights due diligence, will not export or transfer weapons to a party to an armed conflict where there is a real risk that they will be used to violate international humanitarian law,” he said.
In this regard, the High Commissioner is pleased that some countries have taken steps in this direction.
