Conflicts are spiralling and climate chaos rages on, while in every region of the world, economic uncertainty is taking root and technology is developing uncontrolled and at dizzying speed, Türk stressed.

“Behind each crisis, people are suffering. We must never lose sight of this fact. The United Nations was founded to end war, reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, and promote justice and international law,” Türk said.

The High Commissioner said that for 80 years, those promises helped to deliver a greater measure of peace and sustainable development. Life expectancy increased by 25 years and the number of people with a basic education doubled.

“States agreed on wide-ranging laws of war. They adopted treaties on women’s rights, on the environment, on disarmament, on preventing genocide,” he said.

“Despite edging close to nuclear annihilation several times, reason prevailed. Our global agreements have proven themselves over decades,”Türk noted.

“Today, we see dramatic steps to weaken them, creating a more dangerous world for us all. Can we sit by as global security and prosperity are undermined? Will we watch as the rule of law is eroded? Can we continue as usual, while powerful countries cast aside the agreements that underpin our lives? Can we risk massive conflict based on leaders’ personal assessments and agendas? We must ask ourselves, is this the world the framers of the Charter imagined? And we must answer with the strongest possible defense of international law, and human rights,” Türk warned

“The current trajectory – of escalating conflict and blatant disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law – is indefensible. Civilians are deliberately attacked. Parties to conflict starve and rape as weapons of war. Life-saving humanitarian aid is obstructed, and humanitarian aid workers are targeted. And accountability is often absent,” Türk said.

“Around the world, at least 625 human rights defenders and media workers were killed or disappeared in 2024, according to data gathered by my Office. That is one every 14 hours,” the High Commissioner said.

In many places around the world, civil society and the media are being vilified, harassed, and silenced, Türk said. But it is precisely civil society and the media who hold power to account and must be protected.

“Social tensions are often rooted in systemic, long-standing discrimination based on race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, migrant status, caste, and other characteristics. Policies to tackle such discrimination have had important successes in all regions of the world. Some call these DEI policies. I call them standing up for equality,” Türk said.

“When we look at the pushback against such policies, we see it for what it is: a fundamental misrepresentation that reveals a strategic decision to scapegoat vulnerable groups. Discrimination is neither rare nor random; it is widespread. Across 119 countries, one in five people reported experiencing discrimination in the past year, according to data gathered by my Office. Colonialism’s brutal legacy persists. Racism remains a scourge,” he said.

“Data gathered by my Office shows that worldwide, women face discrimination at more than double the level experienced by men,” the UN Human Rights Chief highlighted.

“As disturbing as this pushback is, we must not fall for the hype. This is not a global phenomenon. The vast majority of countries around the world continue to support the expansion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Half the world’s population now benefits from effective national human rights institutions that work with my Office. That figure has tripled in the past two decades. And policies to promote equality are working,” he said.

“Many of the poorest people in the world are falling even further behind, with their rights to food, health and an adequate standard of living under assault. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is slipping out of reach,” he said.

“The recent imposition of soaring tariffs may seem like a high-stakes poker game, with the global economy as the bank,” he stressed. “Higher tariffs could put healthcare, education and a nutritious diet out of reach for many. Higher tariffs could also roll back gains on gender equality, as they have a disproportionate impact on women working in low-paid manufacturing jobs.”

Populists and authoritarians are working hard with their so-called culture wars to distract people from today’s very real problems, which is why we need more human rights not fewer, the High Commissioner said.

“Human rights provide stability and security in our troubled times. They are a bridge between governments and people, between generations past, present and future. And they are guardrails on power, especially when it is unleashed in its most brutal forms,” Türk stated.

The High Commissioner highlighted the painstaking work of investigating and reporting abuses and violations, supporting human rights institutions and addressing human rights emergencies. These are the best tools to have to prevent and mitigate conflict; and to build peace.

“I am therefore deeply disturbed by attacks on the international institutions that underpin our rights, including the International Criminal Court. Sanctioning judges and prosecutors at national, regional or international levels, for doing their jobs, is an assault on the rule of law and corrodes justice,” Türk stressed.

“I am also deeply troubled by funding cuts to my Office, to the Human Rights Mechanisms, and to our partners in civil society,” he said.

Nearly three-quarters of the UN Human Rights Office’s partner organizations expect to lose more than 40 percent of their funding.

“That means fewer early warnings; less advocacy for people who are wrongly imprisoned; fewer investigations into abuses and violations; less accountability. Funding cuts to my Office, and the broader human rights ecosystem, offer comfort to dictators and authoritarians. But the vast majority, and our global security, will be harmed. At this testing time, we need governments and societies to stand up for human rights, in word and deed,” Türk concluded.

For more information and media requests, please contact

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

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

Thameen Al-Kheetan - + - +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org

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STORY: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk Global Update to the 59^th Human Rights Council

TRT: 07:23

SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 16 June 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST

1. Exterior shot : Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot : Room 20
3. Wide shot : Podium
4. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Behind each crisis, people are suffering. We must never lose sight of this fact. The United Nations was founded to end war, reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, and promote justice and international law.”
5. Cut away: Room 20
6. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “States agreed on wide-ranging laws of war. They adopted treaties on women’s rights, on the environment, on disarmament, on preventing genocide.”
7. Cut away: Room 20
8. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Despite edging close to nuclear annihilation several times, reason prevailed. Our global agreements have proven themselves over decades.”
9. Cut away: Room 20
10. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Today, we see dramatic steps to weaken them, creating a more dangerous world for us all. Can we sit by as global security and prosperity are undermined? Will we watch as the rule of law is eroded? Can we continue as usual, while powerful countries cast aside the agreements that underpin our lives? Can we risk massive conflict based on leaders’ personal assessments and agendas? We must ask ourselves, is this the world the framers of the Charter imagined? And we must answer with the strongest possible defense of international law, and human rights.”
11. Cut away: Room 20
12. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The current trajectory – of escalating conflict and blatant disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law – is indefensible. Civilians are deliberately attacked. Parties to conflict starve and rape as weapons of war. Life-saving humanitarian aid is obstructed, and humanitarian aid workers are targeted. And accountability is often absent.”
13. Cut away: Room 20
14. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Around the world, at least 625 human rights defenders and media workers were killed or disappeared in 2024, according to data gathered by my Office. That is one every 14 hours.”
15. Cut away: Room 20
16. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Social tensions are often rooted in systemic, long-standing discrimination based on race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, migrant status, caste, and other characteristics. Policies to tackle such discrimination have had important successes in all regions of the world. Some call these DEI policies. I call them standing up for equality.”
17. Cut away: Room 20
18. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “When we look at the pushback against such policies, we see it for what it is: a fundamental misrepresentation that reveals a strategic decision to scapegoat vulnerable groups. Discrimination is neither rare nor random; it is widespread. Across 119 countries, one in five people reported experiencing discrimination in the past year, according to data gathered by my Office. Colonialism’s brutal legacy persists. Racism remains a scourge.”
19. Cut away: Room 20
20. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Data gathered by my Office shows that worldwide, women face discrimination at more than double the level experienced by men.”
21. Cut away: Room 20
22. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “As disturbing as this pushback is, we must not fall for the hype. This is not a global phenomenon. The vast majority of countries around the world continue to support the expansion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Half the world’s population now benefits from effective national human rights institutions that work with my Office. That figure has tripled in the past two decades. And policies to promote equality are working.”
23. Cut away: Room 20
24. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Many of the poorest people in the world are falling even further behind, with their rights to food, health and an adequate standard of living under assault. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is slipping out of reach.”
25. Cut away: Room 20
26. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The recent imposition of soaring tariffs may seem like a high-stakes poker game, with the global economy as the bank,” he stressed. “Higher tariffs could put healthcare, education and a nutritious diet out of reach for many. Higher tariffs could also roll back gains on gender equality, as they have a disproportionate impact on women working in low-paid manufacturing jobs.”
27. Cut away: Room 20
28. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Human rights provide stability and security in our troubled times. They are a bridge between governments and people, between generations past, present and future. And they are guardrails on power, especially when it is unleashed in its most brutal forms.”
29. Cut away: Room 20
30. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I am therefore deeply disturbed by attacks on the international institutions that underpin our rights, including the International Criminal Court. Sanctioning judges and prosecutors at national, regional or international levels, for doing their jobs, is an assault on the rule of law and corrodes justice.”
31. Cut away: Room 20
32. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I am also deeply troubled by funding cuts to my Office, to the Human Rights Mechanisms, and to our partners in civil society.”
33. Cut away: Room 20
34. SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “That means fewer early warnings; less advocacy for people who are wrongly imprisoned; fewer investigations into abuses and violations; less accountability. Funding cuts to my Office, and the broader human rights ecosystem, offer comfort to dictators and authoritarians. But the vast majority, and our global security, will be harmed. At this testing time, we need governments and societies to stand up for human rights, in word and deed.”