Human rights are under assault globally, says UN Secretary General

GENEVA – Human rights are under assault worldwide, the United Nations chief warned on Monday (Feb 23), citing widespread abuses of international law and devastating civilian suffering in conflicts in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine.

“The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the opening of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Around the world, human rights are being pushed back deliberately, strategically, and sometimes proudly,” Guterres said.

The UN human rights chief has said his office is in “survival mode” due to funding cuts that have come alongside pressure on UN experts and US disengagement.

‘Humanitarian needs exploding’

The US, the UN’s top donor, has paid just US$160 million (S$203 million) of the more than US$4 billion it owes to the global body, a UN spokesperson said last week. 

“Humanitarian needs are exploding while funding collapses,” Guterres said. 

The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, told the council that the world faces the most intense competition for power and resources since World War Two, amid widespread rights violations.

He joined Guterres in urging an end to abuses in conflicts in Sudan, Gaza, Myanmar and Ukraine.

One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that despite backing from some member states to strengthen and support the human rights system, funding remained a challenge.

The UN says funding shortages have prevented two investigations launched in 2025 – an inquiry into potential war crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo and a investigation into abuses in Afghanistan – from becoming operational.

Appeal over Palestinian terrirories

Guterres also said blatant violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories threatened the viability of a Palestinian state.

“The two-State solution is being stripped away in broad daylight. The international community cannot allow it to happen,” he said.

This month Israel’s Cabinet approved the latest measures to tighten Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, a move Palestinians called a “de-facto annexation”.

Most nations have long backed the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the best way to resolve the generations-old conflict and see the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, as the largest part of that future state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

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