The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Statements , Conferences , Edited News
Human Rights 75 – Welcome statement by Volker Türk - 11 December 2023
STORY: High-Level Event Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Volker Türk
TRT: 03:04
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 11 December 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exteriors shots: Palais des Nation with HR75 banners
- Various shots: Outside Room 20 in the Palais des Nations participants arriving
- Various shots: Inside room 20 participants
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “In the ashes of global warfare, it brought hope. To put an end to cycles of bloodshed, it promised justice. It promised development that would be secure, equitable; inclusive. It set out the path to peace.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “But alongside the progress that has transformed many of our societies, there have also been numerous failures to uphold human rights over the past 75 years. We live among many such failures today – with the turmoil and suffering that they produce.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “War: my thoughts go to the millions of people suffering unbearably in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably in Gaza, and Israel; in Sudan; Ukraine; Myanmar; and so many other places. Famine. Oppressive and hateful discrimination. Repression and persecution. Threats to human rights generated by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: ““It was drawn up at a time of horror, after the most monstrous mass killing the world has ever known, in the form of the Holocaust – and with the knowledge that total destruction was growing closer. It has demonstrated its power and efficacy over decades. It bridges every sector of Government action and field of human endeavour.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “At a time of so little solidarity, and so much divisive and short-sighted vision, I view it as a call to overcome polarisation. A call to work, with courage and principles, together, to resolve the huge challenges that we face.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “A call to hark back to the spirit that led every Member State to adopt the Universal Declaration, and to base local, national and global decisions, across all areas of policy, on the intrinsic, and equal, value of every human life”
- Cutaways: room 20
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk addressed the Human Rights Council during a meeting on the Israeli strike on negotiators in Qatar on Tuesday. “Israel’s strike on negotiators in Doha on 9 September was a shocking breach of international law, an assault on regional peace and stability, and a blow against the integrity of mediation and negotiating processes around the world,” he said.
1
1
1
Statements , Conferences | HRC
The Human Rights is holding an Urgent debate to “discuss the recent military aggression launched by Israel against the State of Qatar on 9 September 2025”.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: Thirsty and starving, war-battered families face ‘inhumane’ evacuation
As bombs continue to fall on Gaza City as part of the intensifying Israeli military operation, families with starving children are being pushed southwards from one “hellscape” to another, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
New UN Human Rights report finds 10 years of increased suffering repression and fear
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday published a report on the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 2014.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNICEF , UNHCR
The ongoing humanitarian response to the devastating Afghanistan earthquake disaster continued on Friday, although essential services have been cut for operational reasons following reinforced Taliban restrictions on women working with the UN, the global body said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Un nouveau rapport du Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme sur la République démocratique du Congo évoque le spectre de crimes de guerre et de crimes contre l'humanité dans le Nord et le Sud-Kivu.,
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
A high-level independent rights probe into the Sudan crisis on Tuesday condemned the many grave crimes committed against civilians by all parties to the war, citing disturbing evidence indicating that they had been “deliberately targeted, displaced and starved”.
1
1
2
Statements | UNOG
Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme, Volker Türk - Dialogue interactif renforcé sur la République démocratique du Congo, 60e session du Conseil des droits de l'homme
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Ukraine: ‘Relentless’ attacks rattle health system as winter approaches: WHO
Ambulances attacked, chronically ill patients lacking care and no peace in sight: for millions of Ukrainians, the run-up to another winter of war is just the latest life-or-death challenge they face, the UN health agency (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Statements , Conferences | HRC
Interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in the Sudan.
1
2
1
Statements , Conferences | HRC
"Women and girls face extreme forms of gender-based discrimination and oppression that amount to systematic gender persecution", said UN deputy rights chief at the enhanced interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his report on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.