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“The cost of war is so high. The human toll is incalculable,” Türk told a press conference in Geneva, ahead of Human Rights Day on 10 December. He noted that 2024 has been marked by horrific numbers of people killed and severely injured in conflict, on and off the battlefield.
“The disregard for international law and apparent indifference to civilian lives and infrastructure have been starkly in focus in the conflict in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Lebanon, as well as in Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar, to name a few very stark examples,” he said.
“We need to stem the flow of arms into Haiti, Sudan and Myanmar; to put on notice those providing arms, including to Israel and non-State armed actors in Lebanon, Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, that international law requires States to exercise care that weapons they provide are not used to commit violations. We need to insist that it is not okay, and not legal, to use anti-personnel mines in Ukraine, it is not okay to provide them for use there, and it is not okay to reduce the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons,” he said.
The High Commissioner highlighted developments in Syria, where he said, a regime had been driven from power following decades of brutal repression, and after nearly 14 years of relentless conflict.
The human rights of all Syrians must be at the core of any transition, through meaningful and inclusive participation, including notably of women and young people, he said. “Syria’s sovereignty, unity independence and territorial integrity must be restored.”
“Any political transition must ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious violations, and guarantee that those responsible are held to account. It is imperative that all evidence be collected and preserved meticulously for future use. Reform of the security apparatus will be key. This transition must also ensure that the tragedy of missing people is addressed,” Türk stressed.
The High Commissioner also highlighted the viral spread of disinformation on social platforms and in some traditional media, including State-sponsored and State-funded disinformation campaigns, is sowing divisions and hatred, and discrediting human rights defenders, independent journalism and international institutions.
Faced with so many challenges, we cannot lose the profound values and principles underpinning human rights, the High Commissioner said.
“Human rights are not abstract ideas or ideologies. They are about who we are, and how we live. They are grounded in facts, in law and in compassion. They embody our needs and our hopes,” he said.
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STORY: UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk press conference remarks
TRT: 02:26
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 09 December 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot:
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The cost of war is so high. The human toll is incalculable.”
- Cutway: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Thedisregard for international law and apparent indifference to civilian lives and infrastructure have been starkly in focus in the conflict in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Lebanon, as well as in Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar, to name a few very stark examples.”
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We need to stem the flow of arms into Haiti, Sudan and Myanmar; to put on notice those providing arms, including to Israel and non-State armed actors in Lebanon, Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, that international law requires States to exercise care that weapons they provide are not used to commit violations. We need to insist that it is not okay, and not legal, to use anti-personnel mines in Ukraine, it is not okay to provide them for use there, and it is not okay to reduce the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.”
- Cutway: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Syria’ssovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity must be restored.”
- Cutway: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Anypolitical transition must ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious violations, and guarantee that those responsible are held to account. It is imperative that all evidence be collected and preserved meticulously for future use. Reform of the security apparatus will be key. This transition must also ensure that the tragedy of missing people is addressed.”
- Cutway: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Humanrights are not abstract ideas or ideologies. They are about who we are, and how we live. They are grounded in facts, in law and in compassion. They embody our needs and our hopes.”
- Cutway: briefing room
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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:
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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.
“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.
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