UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s global update to the UN Human Rights Council

“A wave of conflict is battering people's lives, destroying economies, profoundly damaging human rights, and upending hopes for multilateral solutions,” he told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva as he delivered his global update.

“And yet the right to peace is the mother of all Human Rights. Without peace, all other rights are quashed. It is urgent that we devise ways to counter warmongering, fear and the illogic of escalating hatred and hostility – which bring short-term profit to a few while ruining the lives and rights of millions,” Türk said.

With elections in over 60 countries, 2024 could be a landmark for democratic principles, the High Commissioner said.

“But democracy is also broader than the singular electoral moment every three, four or five years. It lives – or dies – with the people's right to participate in the conduct of public affairs, constantly,” he said. Fundamental freedoms – the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association – are also essential.

“This empowerment of people from all walks of life is the 'superpower' of genuinely participatory societies, because it ensures trust in the institutions of governance, with decision-making that is more relevant and more effective, because it is better informed and balances the interests and needs of different groups,” he said.

The High Commissioner also had this warning: “In many parts of the world, many politicians are deliberately enflaming antagonism and xenophobia to garner support, particularly in electoral periods. In this headlong rush to abandon the common good for short-term personal benefit, they are tearing up the fundamental human rights principles that can unite us all.”

The High Commissioner said he was concerned by election disinformation campaigns, fueled by generative artificial intelligence. There was an acute need for robust regulatory frameworks to ensure responsible use of generative AI, Türk said, adding that his Office is doing its utmost to advance such regulation.

Türk also voiced concern that, in many countries, including in Europe and North America, there is an apparently growing influence of so-called ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theories, based on false notions that Jews, Muslims, non-white people and migrants seek to ‘replace’ or suppress countries' cultures and peoples.

“These delusional and deeply racist ideas have directly influenced many perpetrators of violence. Together with the so called ‘war on woke’ - which is really a war on inclusion – these ideas aim to exclude racial minorities – particularly women from racial minorities – and LGBTQ+ people from full equality. Multiculturalism is not a threat: it is the history of humanity, and deeply beneficial to us all, ” he said.

The High Commissioner’s full speech, in which he refers to the situation in more than 40 countries, is available here.

In Geneva:

Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org

Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org

Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org

Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org

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