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Opening HRC 55: UN SG - António Guterres, PGA - Dennis Francis, HC - Volker Turk
Rules of war and human rights must be upheld, UN Secretary-General says, as global divisions and disinformation threaten the UN’s founding principles
In conflicts across the world, nations and their governments are ignoring “the rule of law and the rules of war” enshrined in the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter, an alarming development highlighted by United Nations chief António Guterres at the opening of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.
“From Ukraine to Sudan to Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gaza, parties to conflict are turning a blind eye to international law, the Geneva Conventions and even the United Nations Charter. The Security Council is often deadlocked and able to act on the most significant peace and security issues of all time,” he said.
Mr. Guterres added that “the Council's lack of unity on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and on Israel's military operations in Gaza following the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October has severely - but perhaps fatally -undermined its authority. The Council needs serious reform to its composition and working methods.”
In addressing these urgent crises and advocating for other significant human rights challenges globally, Mr. Guterres underscored the upcoming Summit of the Future, convening at UN Headquarters in September, as an occasion for Member States to reaffirm their dedication to fostering peace and security grounded in human rights.
Mr. Guterres also announced a new framework for integrating human rights in all aspects of the UN’s work, called the UN Agenda for Protection. “To support states in meeting their obligations” he said, “I am launching a system-wide United Nations Agenda for Protection, together with High Commissioner for Human Rights. Under this Agenda, the United Nations, across the full spectrum of our work, will act as one to prevent human rights violations, and to identify and respond to them when they take place. That is the Protection Pledge of all United Nations bodies to do their utmost to protect people.”
Echoing warnings that international humanitarian law and even the UN Charter were coming under increasing threat around the world, the President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, told the Human Rights Council that it was time for all global citizens to “do our part”.
“Across the globe, the inhuman brutality and suffering must stop. We must not simply stand-by as callous observers, less we be seen as complicit in the expanding web of dehumanization. No! We must do our part. The decisive role of this august Council is crucial in our collective efforts.”
Referring to the war in Gaza where “the suffering of innocent civilians has reached an unbearable tipping point – with over 90 per cent of the population displaced, teetering on the brink of starvation”, Mr. Francis insisted on the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. “In the name of humanity, we the United Nations, must vehemently use our commanding platforms to speak up and to speak out louder in demand for an immediate humanitarian cease fire in the Gaza Strip and for the opening of corridors to render urgently needed assistance and care to the 1.5 million displaced and unhoused Palestinians.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk issued a stark warning about “attempts to undermine the legitimacy and work of the United Nations and other institutions. They include disinformation that targets UN humanitarian organizations, UN peacekeepers and my Office.” Mr. Türk added that “the UN has become a lightning rod for manipulative propaganda and a scapegoat for policy failures. This is profoundly destructive of the common good, and it callously betrays the many people whose lives rely on it.”
In an effort to transform societies and the global community, the UN Rights Chief also announced the launch of "Human Rights: A Path for Solutions", a vision statement which sets out eight key messages to guide renewed action for peace; economies that work for people and planet; effective governance; and guardrails for digital and scientific progress.
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STORY: HRC 55 Opening UN SG António Guterres, PGA Dennis Francis and HC Volker Türk
TRT: 3:55”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 February 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley
- Wide shot: Human Rights Room with delegates and ceiling
- SOUNDBITE (English) – António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: “From Ukraine to Sudan to Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gaza, parties to conflict are turning a blind eye to international law, the Geneva Conventions and even the United Nations Charter. The Security Council is often deadlocked and able to act on the most significant peace and security issues of all time.”
- Medium shot: SG Guterres at podium with ceiling of Human Rights Room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: “The Council's lack of unity on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and on Israel's military operations in Gaza following the horrific terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October has severely - but perhaps fatally -undermined its authority. The Council needs serious reform to its composition and working methods.”
- Wide shot: SG at podium and on big screen in Human Rights Room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: “To support states in meeting their obligations, I am launching a system-wide United Nations Agenda for Protection, together with High Commissioner for Human Rights. Under this Agenda, the United Nations, across the full spectrum of our work, will act as one to prevent human rights violations, and to identify and respond to them when they take place. That is the Protection Pledge of all United Nations bodies to do their utmost to protect people.”
- Wide shot: Speakers at the podium with PGA delivering his speech
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly: “In the name of humanity, we, the United Nations, must vehemently use our commanding platforms to speak up and to speak out louder in demand for an immediate humanitarian cease fire in the Gaza Strip and for the opening of corridors to render urgently needed assistance and care to the 1.5 million displaced and unhoused Palestinians.”
- Medium shot: Speakers at the podium with PGA delivering his speech
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly: “Across the globe, the inhuman brutality and suffering must stop. We must not simply stand-by as callous observers, less we be seen as complicit in the expanding web of dehumanization. No! We must do our part. The decisive role of this august Council is crucial in our collective efforts.”
- Wide shot, HC Volker Türk speaking
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I am disturbed by attempts to undermine the legitimacy and work of the United Nations and other institutions. They include disinformation that targets UN humanitarian organizations, UN peacekeepers and my Office. The UN has become a lightning rod for manipulative propaganda and a scapegoat for policy failures. This is profoundly destructive of the common good, and it callously betrays the many people whose lives rely on it.”
- Wide shot, Human Rights Room with delegates and Volker Türk delivering his speech
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Today, I am pleased to launch "Human Rights: A Path for Solutions", which is the distillation of this hard work that has gone into this commemoration year, in the hope that it will inform the Summit of the Future. This “Path for Solutions” sets out eight key messages to guide renewed action for peace; economies that work for people and planet; effective governance; and guardrails for digital and scientific progress.”
- Wide shot, Human Rights Room with delegates
- Wide shot, Human Rights Room with speakers at the podium
- Medium shot, delegates listening
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
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”.
Glaciers disappearing
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.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
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.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
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.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
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.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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