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HRC61 - HC Volker Türk Global Update - 27 February 2026
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HRC61 - HC Volker Türk Global Update - 27 February 2026

ENG FRA

STORY: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk Global update speech to the 61st Human Rights Council

TRT: 06:21

SOURCE: OHCHR/UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9 
DATELINE:  27 February 2026 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 

SHOTLIST 

  1. Various exterior shots : Palais des Nations
  2. Interior shots: Assembly Hall
  3. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The world is upside down - we all feel it. Discussions on power are everywhere: who has power; how power is shifting; how power will evolve. Players compete for control over land, energy, attention. But to what end? Dominating the global economy? Accumulating more power?  Putting AI into space?”
  4. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  5. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Surely power must serve other purposes. If you ask people around the world what they want from power, the answers are the same: peace, safety, a decent standard of living. In short, people desperately want their human rights.”
  6. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  7. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Ask GenZ, protesting in the streets. Ask human rights defenders in prison, for speaking up against oppression. Ask those risking their lives for their principles. They have entrusted their leaders with upholding human rights. When those leaders ignore their people, trust breaks.”
  8. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  9. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Human rights, and the rule of law based on those rights, prevent the powerful from doing whatever they want. They reject domination and subjugation. They represent how people want to live. Human rights are more popular than populism.”
  10. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  11. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Authoritarians around the world follow a familiar playbook. Governments adopt vague laws under the guise of national security, criminalize peaceful criticism, and use heavy-handed tactics to respond to dissent. They control information by capturing some channels for propaganda, while shutting down or censoring others.”
  12. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  13. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “And all the while, women and minority groups — migrants, LGBTIQ+ people, religious minorities—are scapegoated and blamed for all of society’s ills. We see this playbook used in many countries today.”
  14. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  15. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The threat and use of force to solve disputes is becoming more frequent and normalized. The number of armed conflicts has almost doubled since 2010, to around 60. Attacks on civilians are up by almost one-third.”
  16. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  17. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Conflict is a human rights wasteland – literally, and for people living through it.”
  18. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  19. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “It is baffling that political leaders are not taking urgent steps to reverse these trends. Instead, some of them are attacking the institutions designed to keep us safe –the United Nations, including the International Court of Justice; the International Criminal Court; this Council, and its mechanisms. I wish they would put their time and energy into the real challenges – for example, the nuclear arms race unfolding before our eyes.”
  20. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  21. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Around the world, we are witnessing blatant violations of international law.”
  22. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  23. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Ten years ago, an attack on a hospital triggered a global outcry. Recent figures show there are now an average of ten attacks per day on healthcare. Warring parties try to justify their actions by exploiting ambiguities in the law and, frankly, by lying.”
  24. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  25. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The pattern is clear: ignoring atrocity crimes fuels greater bloodshed. The world cannot stand by as the edifice of international humanitarian and human rights law is dismantled before our eyes.”
  26. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  27. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “AI is about power – so it is intrinsically connected to human rights. AI is controlled by a handful of companies, led by billionaires who have enormous power over the forces reshaping societies – for better or worse.”
  28. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  29. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Mr. President, the final move in the authoritarian playbook is persuading people that they are powerless. But human rights remind us that we are not. Our choices, our voices, our votes determine what comes next. The future depends on each of us. We need to forge coalitions to champion what unites us.”
  30. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  31. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “There is a need for human rights-based negotiations that bring parties to conflict together around converging interests, like protecting civilians, clarifying the fate of missing people, and ending arbitrary arrests.”
  32. Cutaways: Assembly hall
  33. SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We will set in motion a Global Alliance for Human Rights to capture the energy and commitment that I feel, everywhere I go. It will represent the quiet majority, who strive for a fairer, more peaceful and compassionate world.  And that is what we are working for.”

“The world is upside down - we all feel it. Discussions on power are everywhere: who has power; how power is shifting; how power will evolve. Players compete for control over land, energy, attention. But to what end? Dominating the global economy? Accumulating more power?  Putting AI into space?”   

 

“Surely power must serve other purposes. If you ask people around the world what they want from power, the answers are the same: peace, safety, a decent standard of living. In short, people desperately want their human rights,” the High Commissioner said.   

 

“Ask GenZ, protesting in the streets. Ask human rights defenders in prison, for speaking up against oppression. Ask those risking their lives for their principles. They have entrusted their leaders with upholding human rights. When those leaders ignore their people, trust breaks,” he added.

“Human rights, and the rule of law based on those rights, prevent the powerful from doing whatever they want. They reject domination and subjugation. They represent how people want to live. Human rights are more popular than populism,” he said.

“Authoritarians around the world follow a familiar playbook. Governments adopt vague laws under the guise of national security, criminalize peaceful criticism, and use heavy-handed tactics to respond to dissent. They control information by capturing some channels for propaganda, while shutting down or censoring others,” said the High Commissioner.

The High Commissioner outlined how Human rights defenders, independent media, and dissenting voices are arrested, threatened, subjected to surveillance, and even killed. Civil society groups are branded as agents of foreign powers, and their funding is cut. Authoritarians undermine judicial institutions by coopting, overriding, or abolishing them.

 

“And all the while, women and minority groups — migrants, LGBTIQ+ people, religious minorities—are scapegoated and blamed for all of society’s ills. We see this playbook used in many countries today,” he said.

 

Attacks on minorities continue, as some States retreat from their commitments to prevent and address discrimination.  Africans and people of African descent are subjected to racial profiling and excessive use of force across several regions. Indigenous Peoples continue to be denied their rights to land and to free, prior, and informed consent in mining and other commercial projects, and reports show a sharp increase in antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of religious hate across several regions.

The High Commissioner also noted the rise of hate speech against migrants and refugees, the exclusion and discrimination against Roma, the targeting of people and organizations working to defend LGBTIQ+ rights and the intensifying threats faced by women and girls.

Turning to various crises around the world, the High Commissioner shed light on the competition for power and resources that drives conflict, and how it can be stopped.

“The threat and use of force to solve disputes is becoming more frequent and normalized. The number of armed conflicts has almost doubled since 2010, to around 60. Attacks on civilians are up by almost one-third,” Türk said.

 

“Conflict is a human rights wasteland – literally, and for people living through it,” he added.

 

“It is baffling that political leaders are not taking urgent steps to reverse these trends.  

Instead, some of them are attacking the institutions designed to keep us safe –the United Nations, including the International Court of Justice; the International Criminal Court; this Council, and its mechanisms. I wish they would put their time and energy into the real challenges – for example, the nuclear arms race unfolding before our eyes,” he said.

 

The High Commissioner expressed deep concern that there are now no binding limits on the two largest nuclear arsenals in the world – those of the Russian Federation and the United States. He expressed hope that the two countries concerned will put in place a successor to the New START Treaty, and called on all States to recommit to nuclear non-proliferation.  

“Around the world, we are witnessing blatant violations of international law,” he warned.

 

“Ten years ago, an attack on a hospital triggered a global outcry. Recent figures show there are now an average of ten attacks per day on healthcare. Warring parties try to justify their actions by exploiting ambiguities in the law and, frankly, by lying,” said Türk.

 

“The pattern is clear: ignoring atrocity crimes fuels greater bloodshed. The world cannot stand by as the edifice of international humanitarian and human rights law is dismantled before our eyes,” he said.

Calling on States to stand up for universalism, the High Commissioner called for clear actions to address these challenges. These include a ban on the sale or transfer of weapons where there is a risk they could be used to violate international law, for Governments and social media companies to work on an end to hate speech and dehumanizing rhetoric, for accountability through credible investigations and prosecutions - including, by increasing the use of universal jurisdiction, and for human rights confidence-building measures, which can help to create the political space for dialogue and peacebuilding. 

The High Commissioner advised that his Office was developing such measures and sharing them with those involved in crises in several places around the world, including Ukraine, Sudan and Venezuela. These proposals are based on lessons learned from previous peace processes, from Colombia to the former Yugoslavia.  

With AI technologies controlled by a handful of companies, led by billionaires who have enormous power over the forces reshaping societies, the High Commissioner also called for human rights to be hard-wired into AI design, development and deployment.

“AI is about power – so it is intrinsically connected to human rights. AI is controlled by a handful of companies, led by billionaires who have enormous power over the forces reshaping societies – for better or worse,” said Türk.

  

Without adequate oversight and accountability, digital technologies can invade privacy, undermine democratic processes, pose serious risks to safety and turbocharge inequality.  States have a responsibility to regulate the safety of these technologies, he added.

“Mr. President, the final move in the authoritarian playbook is persuading people that they are powerless. But human rights remind us that we are not. Our choices, our voices, our votes determine what comes next. The future depends on each of us. We need to forge coalitions to champion what unites us,” said the High Commissioner.

 

“There is a need for human rights-based negotiations that bring parties to conflict together around converging interests, like protecting civilians, clarifying the fate of missing people, and ending arbitrary arrests,” said Türk.

 

“We will set in motion a Global Alliance for Human Rights to capture the energy and commitment that I feel, everywhere I go.  It will represent the quiet majority, who strive for a fairer, more peaceful and compassionate world.  And that is what we are working for.”

ENDS

 

For more information and media requests, please contact 

In Geneva: 

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

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

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

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

WhatsApp

X @UNHumanRights

Facebook unitednationshumanrights

Instagram @unitednationshumanrights

Teleprompter
[Other language spoken]
President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, the world is upside down.
[Other language spoken]
Discussions on power are everywhere.
Who has power?
How power is shifting, how power will evolve.
Players compete for control over land, energy, attention.
But to what end?
Dominating the global economy, Accumulating more power, Putting AI into space.
Surely power must serve other purposes.
If you ask people around the world what they want from power, the answers are the same.
Peace, safety.
A decent standard of living.
In short, people desperately want their human rights.
Ask Gen XI, protesting in the streets.
Ask human rights defenders in prison for speaking up against oppression.
Ask those risking their lives for their principles.
They have entrusted their leaders with upholding human rights.
When those leaders ignore their people, trust breaks.
And when they use power for their own ends, they exploit and subjugate human rights and the rule of law based on those rights Prevent the powerful from doing whatever they want.
They reject domination and subjugation.
They represent how people want to live.
Human rights are more popular than populism.
Growing up in a small state and studying law during the Cold War taught me that international law and cooperation are a lifeline in times of crisis.
Don't be fooled, even the most powerful people in the world rely on others and on the law for everything.
[Other language spoken]
President, the threat and use of force to solve disputes is becoming more frequent and normalised.
The number of armed conflict has almost doubled since 2010 to around 60.
Attacks on civilians are up by almost 1/3.
The world is really becoming a more dangerous place.
No one in their right mind wants that.
Conflict is a human rights wasteland, literally, and for people living through it.
We must not revert to violence as an organising principle.
It is baffling that political leaders are not taking urgent steps to reverse these trends.
Instead, some of them are attacking the institutions designed to keep us safe, the United Nations, including the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, this council and it's mechanisms.
I I wish they would put their time and energy into the real challenges, for example, the nuclear arms race unfolding before our eyes.
Strategic nuclear weapons are designed to kill vast numbers of people.
I'm deeply concerned that there are now no binding limits on the two largest nuclear arsenals in the world, those of the Russian Federation and the United States.
I hope the two countries concerned will put in place a successor to the New START Treaty immediately, and I and I call on all states to recommit to nuclear non proliferation distinguished delegates around the world.
We are witnessing blatant violations of international law.
In Sudan, advanced weapon systems are used in residential areas and to destroy humanitarian convoys and prevent aid from reaching starving children.
In Ukraine, civilians have endured weeks of sub zero temperatures without electricity, heating and water as the Russian Federation destroys vital infrastructure, impacting entire cities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Israel pursues its annexation project in flagrant breach of international law and the Palestinian right to self determination.
In Myanmar, the military continues its violent campaign to suppress the desire of its own people for democracy and justice.
I thank the Council for its attention to these crises and I refer you to all the statements at the relevant dialogues.
A focus on individual conflict cannot be allowed to obscure the bigger picture.
10 years ago, an attack on a hospital triggered a global outcry.
Those responsible rushed to explain that they had made a mistake.
Recent figures show that there are now on average of 10 attacks per day on healthcare.
Warring parties try to justify their actions by exploiting ambiguities in the law and, frankly, by lying.
The pattern is clear.
Ignoring atrocity crimes fuels greater bloodshed.
The world cannot stand by as the edifice of international humanitarian and human rights law is dismantled before our eyes.
States, in fact, everyone need to stand up for universalism and against the descent into competing narratives and historical allegiances.
That starts with recording and analysing the facts and applying the same rigorous standards to everyone without exception.
From Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory to Myanmar and across the Sahel, We, the human rights ecosystem, are shedding light on the competition for power and resources that drives conflicts and how it can be stopped.
In Yemen, protracted civil wars have shattered state institutions, destroyed infrastructure and displaced millions.
Competing regional powers have also fuelled violence.
Yemen is now one of the worst human rights and humanitarian crises in the world.
The risk of famine is back for the first time since 2022.
I condemn the continued arbitrary detention and mistreatment by the Houthis of scores of UN staff, including my own.
I read categorically, reject all allegations against them, and I call for their immediate release.
I also condemn the arbitrary detention of thousands of other Yemenis and urge their release.
In Ethiopia, armed clashes between the national army and the Tigray security forces have led to mass displacement.
Limited humanitarian access and retaliatory arrests of civilians fighting in Hamhara and the situation in Aromia are also cause for serious concern.
The implementation of the peace agreement has stalled and tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea risk further escalation.
The transitional justice process is on pause, delaying A nationally LED accountability initiative.
I call on all parties to strengthen the protection of civilians, to de escalate and to exercise the utmost constraint.
In South Sudan, I'm appalled that civilians are bearing the brunt of indiscriminate military attacks by opposition and government forces, including aerial bombardments, and are being subjected to conflict related sexual violence.
Human rights situation in Syria remains precarious with widespread civilian suffering and displacement.
My office verified that civilians have been killed in hostilities between the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces in Aleppo city and in Raqqa.
Repeated Israeli incursions and cross-border strikes have also undermined stability and harmed civilians.
Transitional justice and accountability are critical and the political agreement between the government and the SDF needs to be implemented transparently and in full.
Turning to Lebanon, where my staff have documented that 137 civilians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire November 2024.
Any renewal of wide scale hostilities would be devastating for civilians.
Distinguished delegates across these different conflicts, we need some clear actions.
First, a ban on the sale or transfer of weapons where there is a risk they could be used to violate international law.
Second, an end to hate speech and dehumanising rhetoric.
Governments and social media companies need to work this out.
3rd, accountability through credible investigations and prosecutions, including by increasing the use of universal jurisdiction, and 4th, Human rights confidence building measures which can help to create the political space for dialogue and peace building.
My office is developing such measures and sharing them with those involved in crises in several places around the world, including Ukraine, Sudan and Venezuela.
Our proposals are based on lessons learned from previous peace processes from Colombia to the former Yugoslavia.
There is a need for human rights based negotiations that bring parties to conflict together around converging interests like protecting civilians, clarifying the fate of missing people and ending arbitrary arrests.
In both Thailand and Cambodia, for example, my office has advocated to build on the ceasefire and to engage in human rights based steps towards peace.
Distinguished delegates disrespect for international law is echoed in disrespect for human rights at the national level, where there are deeply worrying setbacks.
The situation in Iran remains volatile after the authorities killed thousands in a lethal crackdown in January.
Recent days have seen a new wave of protests at universities, making it clear that the underlying grievances remain.
There are continued reports of repression, including arrests and pressure on academic spaces.
Thousands of people are still missing.
I'm horrified by reports that at least eight people, including two children, have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests.
Another 30 are reportedly at risk of the same sentence.
I urge independent, impartial and transparent investigations, fair trial guarantees, and an immediate moratorium on the death penalty.
I'm extremely alarmed about the potential for regional military escalation and its impact on civilians, and I hope the voice of reason prevails.
[Other language spoken]
President, authoritarians around the world follow a familiar playbook.
Governments adopt vague laws under the guise of national security, criminalise peaceful criticism and use heavy-handed tactics to respond to dissent.
They control information by capturing some channels for propaganda while shutting down or censoring others.
Human rights defenders, independent media and dissenting voices are arrested, threatened, subjected to surveillance and even killed.
Civil society groups are branded as the agents of foreign powers and their funding is cut.
The authoritarian undermines traditional institutions by Co opting, overriding or abolishing them.
And all the while women and minority groups, migrants, LGBT, IQ plus people, religious minorities are scapegoated and blamed for all of society's ills.
We see this playbook used in many countries today, Mr.
President, several countries are militarising their law enforcement operation.
Across the Sahel, human rights defenders and journalists are arbitrarily arrested and detained, independent media banned and political parties dissolved as part of a militarised response to violent extremism.
I am concerned about the four year state of emergency in El Salvador and the use of mass trials.
Efforts against organised crime need to be undertaken in line with due process.
I'm also troubled by reports of high numbers of deaths in custody.
Likewise in Ecuador, very concerned about reports of hundreds of deaths in prison, both from violence and from disease.
In in the United States, immigration and other agents have used excessive force during large scale operations against migrants and and peaceful protesters and have shot and killed several people during these operations.
Authorities in Cameroon and Uganda used excessive force, detained political opponents and critics, and imposed severe restrictions on civic space before, during, and after elections.
In a welcome development, Tanzania established a National Commission to investigate violations that took place around the elections in October.
Elections in Guinea last December marked the transition to the restoration of a constitutional order.
However, serious violations persist, including restricted civic space in forced disappearances and digital shutdowns.
[Other language spoken]
President, in Colombia, where my office documented 32 killings of political leaders in 2025, I'm troubled by the security situation in the run up to elections scheduled for May.
In Peru, I'm concerned about attacks on judicial independence and measures undermining the separation of powers ahead of elections later this year.
I encourage the authorities in Colombia and Peru, as well as in Bena, Ethiopia and Nepal, to uphold human rights and safeguard civic space in upcoming election processes.
I welcome the peaceful conduct of the recent elections in Bangladesh and its transition process.
I look forward to engaging with the new government to support institutional reform, accountability and healing that needs to include all of society in Madagascar and Nepal.
I urge all stakeholders to commit to genuine reforms that respond to the aspirations of Gen C protesters last year.
[Other language spoken]
President, outside electoral periods and across all regions, governments are tightening restrictions on civic space.
The authorities in Belarus, Egypt, India, the Russian Federation, Tunisia, Turkey and beyond continue to prosecute civil society activists under counterterrorism legislation.
In Pakistan, lawyers and human rights defenders have been gaoled for for crucial social media posts in Georgia, I regret the restrictions on civic space.
In Venezuela, I note the release of some people who were arbitrarily detained and urge the release of the remainder.
The state of the emergency should be reviewed to ensure it it respects civic space and human rights.
Civil society and victims groups must also be able to participate meaningfully in public affairs.
I will provide an update on the situation on the 16th of March.
[Other language spoken]
I urge the authorities to stop using vague criminal, administrative and national security provisions to suppress the peaceful exercise of fundamental rights.
I urge them to release all those arbitrarily detained.
I regret the lack of follow up by the authorities on previous recommendations and on accountability to protect the rights of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and of Tibetans in their regions.
This includes labour issues and religious and cultural freedoms.
I'm also concerned by the intensified repression of Protestant communities in Sri Lanka.
I urge the government to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and to work with civil society to ensure that new legislation complies with human rights law.
During my recent trip to India, I was impressed by the vibrancy of civil society.
They play a key role in upholding India's democratic transitions and the rights of minorities.
It is important for civic space to be vigorously defended and for civil society to be able to do their work without hindrance.
Globally, attacks on free and independent media are alarming.
Over the past 3 1/2 years, 310 journalists were killed and 85% of these killings were unpunished.
Journalists are detained, threatened and subjected to surveillance for investigating corruption and organised crime.
Women journalists are particularly exposed to violence and abuse online.
[Other language spoken]
President, attacks on minorities are continuing as some states retreat from their commitments to prevent and address discrimination.
Africans and people of African descent are subjected to racial profiling and excessive use of force across several regions.
I have consistently condemned the impunity that persists.
I call for full accountability, which is key to combating systemic racism in law enforcement and to restoring trust.
Indigenous peoples continue to be denied their rights to land and to free, prior and informed consent in mining and other commercial projects.
Other groups face discrimination on the basis of their work or their dissent.
I'm alarmed by reports showing a sharp increase in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of religious hate across several regions.
The rise of hate speech against migrants and refugees, including in Europe, Libya, the United States of America, is a deeply worrying trend in the European Union.
Proposed new rules on returns of migrants risk further restricting their access to healthcare and education and expanding the use of detention.
I'm very concerned that some European states are putting political pressure on the European Court of Human Rights around migration issues.
I urge states to address the exclusion and discrimination against Roma across Europe.
People and organisations working to defend L GB, TIQ plus rights have been targeted in Hungary and Turkey and beyond, which is a worrying trend.
[Other language spoken]
President, women and girls are facing intensifying threats to their rights in Afghanistan.
As I briefed this Council yesterday, the system of segregation imposed on women is reminiscent of apartheid, based on gender rather than race.
Both the Pelicokes and the Epstein files show the extent of the exploitation and abuse of women and girls.
Does anyone think there are not more, many more men like Dominique Pelico or Jeffrey Epstein?
Such horrific abuse is enabled by social systems that silence women and girls and insulate powerful men from accountability.
States must investigate all alleged crimes, protect survivors and insure justice without fear or favour.
More broadly, violence against women, including femicide, is a global emergency.
Around 50,000 women and girls worldwide were killed in 2024, most by family members.
I'm also deeply concerned by the growing number of attacks, including online, against women in public life.
Every woman politician I meet tells me they face constant misogyny and online hate.
[Other language spoken]
President, on a positive note, I'm pleased to have signed a host country agreement this week with the government of Mozambique.
[Other language spoken]
The norm of this is objective.
[Other language spoken]
Is improving people's well-being?
Poverty, unemployment and the lack of social protection combined with limited pathways for safe migration make people vulnerable to brutal exploitation?
A recent report by my office highlighted grave abuses against people trafficked into scam centres across several regions.
Last year my office worked with more than 35 governments from Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Djibouti and Iraq to Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and Scotland in the UK on integrating human rights into budgeting, taxation, land and anti corruption efforts and housing policies helping ensure they protect the most vulnerable.
Distinguished elegance.
Business has an immense role to play in the shift that our economy so urgently need.
There is a long standing misconception that business and human rights stand on opposite side of the barricades.
This is wrong.
There is ample evidence that companies that respect human rights also perform better financially.
Human rights due diligence strengthens the trust of investors and communities and attracts better employees.
Business leaders are also speaking out against the troubling direction the world is taking.
For example, in the United States, amid rising tension over immigration in Minnesota, more than 60 CE OS of companies based in the state called for de escalation and peaceful solutions.
In the European Union, several major brands voiced concern over the weakening of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and I hope to see more companies leverage their power to transform societies for the better.
[Other language spoken]
President, the triple planetary crisis of climate, biodiversity loss and pollution, and the development of new technologies without guardrails have deep implications for human rights.
In the first two months of 2026, floods affected nearly 1,000,000 people in southern Africa, while while wildfires devastated Chile.
No country can solve the climate crisis alone, but at the global level, short termism rules.
Climate negotiations in Brazil failed to deliver a decision on phasing out fossil fuels, which science dictates is essential to preventing climate chaos around the world.
A few states prevented the action needed to protect all of humanity.
The current temperature trajectory will lead to a catastrophic rise of at least 2.3° by the end of this century.
This is all the more shocking in light of the economic and Security benefits of renewable energy.
Nobody ever went to war over a wind farm.
We desperately need urgent climate action that is responsive to people's demands, especially people in small island developing States, and I welcome their increased representation in this Council.
We also need far more investment in adaptation, mitigation and adjust transition.
I often wonder how future generations will charge our leaders actions and their fatal inaction on the climate crisis.
The International Court of Justice has made clear the legal obligation to act urgently and meaningfully 30 to 50 years from now.
Could today's inadequate response be considered ecocide or even a crime against humanity?
[Other language spoken]
President, today debate around tech always leads to artificial intelligence, and AI is about power, so it is intrinsically connected to human rights.
AI is controlled by a handful of companies led by billionaires who have enormous power over the forces reshaping societies.
For better or worse, AI systems are already helping to support and protect human rights, protecting predicting crises and conflict, advancing progress in healthcare and education, helping to solve global challenges like food insecurity.
But without adequate oversight and accountability, digital technologies invade privacy, undermine democratic processes and pose serious risks to the safety of of our children and ourselves.
They also turbocharge inequality and and reproduce existing biases.
I'm extremely concerned concerned by the use of AI systems in armed conflict to shape battlefield decisions with steadily impact.
2 steps are urgently needed.
First, we need to increase and democratise investment in AI for the public good.
Incentives should reward companies for delivering AI that benefits people rather than profits.
Second, human rights need to be hardwired into AI design, development and deployment, and states have a responsibility to regulate the safety of these technologies.
The Independent Scientific Panel on AI is an important milestone, and I count on it to embed strong human rights expertise and robust civil society participation in its work.
[Other language spoken]
President, the final move in the authoritarian playbook is persuading people that they are powerless.
But human rights remind us that we are not.
[Other language spoken]
The future depends on each of us.
We need to forge coalitions to champion what unites us.
In the coming weeks, as I said at the opening, we will set emotional Global Alliance for Human Rights to capture the energy and the commitment that I feel everywhere I go.
It will represent the quiet majority who strive for a fairer, more peaceful and compassionate world, and that is what we are working for.
[Other language spoken]
[Other language spoken]