The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Here is a selection of quotes from his speech:
“I am aware that discussions of complex human rights issues may be difficult or sensitive, for some. Others may feel they are best whispered behind closed doors. Yet, we need to regain the space where we can discuss them in a constructive and open spirit, undisturbed by the tug of geopolitics and bearing in mind that nobody is perfect. In the spur of the moment you may not like what you hear but over time you may appreciate what we had to say. My only consideration, and in fact my duty, is to stay true to the mandate, the normative human rights framework and the imperative of improving people's lives,” he said.
“Contempt for the human being reaches agonizing levels when war breaks out, and violence becomes a daily occurrence. One quarter of humanity is living today in places affected by violent conflict, and it is civilians who suffer the most. Peace is precious and fragile. We must nurture it. First and foremost, by respecting the Charter of the United Nations and international law, including international human rights law,” Türk said.
“Discrimination and racism are virulent threats, both to human dignity and to our relationships as human beings. They weaponize contempt. They humiliate and violate human rights, fuelling grievances and despair, and obstructing development,” he said.
“I am shocked to the core by the contempt for women, and women's equality, that is spawned across the Internet by some so-called “influencers,” feeding social attitudes that make it possible to ignore, or even condone, gender-based violence, and the pervasive commodification of women,” the UN Human Rights Chief said.
“More generally, the scope and magnitude of discrimination against women and girls makes this one of the most overwhelming human rights violations worldwide, and dismantling it will be a major focus of our work,” he said.
“Vicious hate speech is directed not only at women and girls, but also people of African descent; Jews; Muslims; LGBTIQ+ people; refugees; migrants; and many other people from minority groups. Deliberate provocations, such as recent incidents of burning the Qu'ran, are intended to drive wedges between communities. This is deeply dangerous,” he said.
“The violence that is so disproportionately inflicted on people of African descent by law enforcement officers is an example of the deep structural harm rooted in racial discrimination,” Türk said.
“To face these challenges of structural injustice and inequalities, we need to build economies that build trust in government and advance people’s rights and well-being. A human rights economy is one in which the aim of advancing human rights informs all national economic, fiscal, monetary, investment and business decisions,” he stressed.
“Harsh restriction of the civic space is the Achilles heel – the fatal weakness – of governance. If I have one message to deliver to every Head of State or Government it is this: listen to the people – and in particular, to victims and defenders, the people who have the deepest experience of issues. They have something to say that you need to hear,” Türk said.
“Transparent governance is critical, to repair harms and build resilience. Climate finance funds need to reach those most affected and most vulnerable, building in strong human rights safeguards,” Türk said.
“In every country, I strongly encourage the following. Public access to information on environmental risks and Government policies. Full participation and consultation on environmental laws and measures, notably for indigenous peoples and others who are first in line for climate harms. And protection of those who raise concerns over environmental crimes or policies that result in harm,” he said.
“Bashing climate protests; designing laws that unfairly restrict activities that call the public's attention to climate harms; and allowing attacks on activists to go unpunished: these are tactics that harm all States and all human beings. This needs to be addressed urgently,” Türk said.
“Conflict, discrimination, poverty, restrictions on civic space and the triple planetary crisis. We face the continued and compounding effects of these crises – while also confronting a surge of new human rights challenges, notably in the digital realm and involving artificial intelligence and surveillance. Fresh thinking, political leadership, renewed commitments, and dramatically scaled-up financing — with the centrality of human rights at their core — are urgently needed to meet these challenges,” the High Commissioner said in conclusion.
For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence + +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or
Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
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- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “I am aware that discussions of complex human rights issues may be difficult or sensitive, for some. Others may feel they are best whispered behind closed doors. Yet, we need to regain the space where we can discuss them in a constructive and open spirit, undisturbed by the tug of geopolitics and bearing in mind that nobody is perfect. In the spur of the moment you may not like what you hear but over time you may appreciate what we had to say. My only consideration, and in fact my duty, is to stay true to the mandate, the normative human rights framework and the imperative of improving people's lives,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Contempt for the human being reaches agonizing levels when war breaks out, and violence becomes a daily occurrence. One quarter of humanity is living today in places affected by violent conflict, and it is civilians who suffer the most. Peace is precious and fragile. We must nurture it. First and foremost, by respecting the Charter of the United Nations and international law, including international human rights law,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Discrimination and racism are virulent threats, both to human dignity and to our relationships as human beings. They weaponize contempt. They humiliate and violate human rights, fuelling grievances and despair, and obstructing development,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “I am shocked to the core by the contempt for women, and women's equality, that is spawned across the Internet by some so-called “influencers,” feeding social attitudes that make it possible to ignore, or even condone, gender-based violence, and the pervasive commodification of women,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “More generally, the scope and magnitude of discrimination against women and girls makes this one of the most overwhelming human rights violations worldwide, and dismantling it will be a major focus of our work,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Vicious hate speech is directed not only at women and girls, but also people of African descent; Jews; Muslims; LGBTIQ+ people; refugees; migrants; and many other people from minority groups. Deliberate provocations, such as recent incidents of burning the Qu'ran, are intended to drive wedges between communities. This is deeply dangerous,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The violence that is so disproportionately inflicted on people of African descent by law enforcement officers is an example of the deep structural harm rooted in racial discrimination,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “To face these challenges of structural injustice and inequalities, we need to build economies that build trust in government and advance people’s rights and well-being. A human rights economy is one in which the aim of advancing human rights informs all national economic, fiscal, monetary, investment and business decisions,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Harsh restriction of the civic space is the Achilles heel – the fatal weakness – of governance. If I have one message to deliver to every Head of State or Government it is this: listen to the people – and in particular, to victims and defenders, the people who have the deepest experience of issues. They have something to say that you need to hear,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “ Transparent governance is critical, to repair harms and build resilience. Climate finance funds need to reach those most affected and most vulnerable, building in strong human rights safeguards,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “In every country, I strongly encourage the following. Public access to information on environmental risks and Government policies. Full participation and consultation on environmental laws and measures, notably for indigenous peoples and others who are first in line for climate harms. And protection of those who raise concerns over environmental crimes or policies that result in harm,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Bashing climate protests; designing laws that unfairly restrict activities that call the public's attention to climate harms; and allowing attacks on activists to go unpunished: these are tactics that harm all States and all human beings. This needs to be addressed urgently,”
- Cut aways: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Conflict, discrimination, poverty, restrictions on civic space and the triple planetary crisis. We face the continued and compounding effects of these crises – while also confronting a surge of new human rights challenges, notably in the digital realm and involving artificial intelligence and surveillance. Fresh thinking, political leadership, renewed commitments, and dramatically scaled-up financing — with the centrality of human rights at their core — are urgently needed to meet these challenges,”
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Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
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In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
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Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
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Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
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Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
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ends