Delegates from over 120 countries gathered in Geneva on Monday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), amidst escalating global instability and conflict. Recognizing the dizzying geopolitical uncertainty marked by ongoing conflict and war in Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and beyond, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the HRC members to hold the line on human rights, which he warned were under a "full-scale attack."
“The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force. And this assault is not coming from the shadows. Or by surprise. It is happening in plain sight – and often led by those who hold the greatest power,” Guterres said.
He added that around the world, human rights were being pushed back deliberately, strategically, and sometimes proudly.
“And as written in the lives of people who suffer twice: first from violence, oppression, or exclusion – and then again from the world’s indifference,” the UN chief said.
“When human rights fall, everything else tumbles. Peace. Development. Social cohesion. Trust. Solidarity.”
That was precisely why work of the HRC was so critical. It was also precisely why, as the Council marked its twentieth anniversary, it was more important than ever to translate political engagement into a path towards strengthening human rights everywhere.
On Ukraine, specifically, the UN chief noted that Tuesday will mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has killed more than 15,000 civilians.
“It is more than past time to end the bloodshed”, he insisted, his comments a precursor to those of UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who called for rights and justice to be the focus of any ceasefire or peace agreement.
Human rights “not a spectator sport”
Echoing those concerns, President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock insisted that human rights were “not a spectator sport” for Members of the Council, ambassadors, ministers or UN officials, for whom “silence is a choice […] and it has consequences”.
“History teaches us that large systems rarely collapse in one dramatic moment; they erode slowly, rule by rule, commitment by commitment, with those who should defend them rather staying silent. Until one day, what seemed permanent simply vanishes,” Baerbock said.
In her opening comments to the Council, she highlighted the ongoing plight of Afghan women who under a new Taliban edict can reportedly be beaten by their husbands, so long as there are no visible marks.
“We should remember once and for all and again that appeasement in the light of the most severe human rights violations never prevails,” she said.
“We are seeing not only a dramatic backlash in women’s but also human rights and other rules and standards which were believed to be set in stone and are now openly questioned, dismissed, or violated.”
Baerbock also appealed for “a clear commitment from every member state that the abduction of Ukrainian children is a war crime”, a reference to the children separated from their families since 2014 – when Moscow annexed Crimea – including those transferred within occupied Ukrainian territory and those deported to Russia.
Mass suffering excused away
Guterres stressed that this was a world where mass suffering was excused away, where humans were used as bargaining chips, where international law was treated as a mere inconvenience.
“Conflicts are multiplying and impunity has become a contagion. That is not due to a lack of knowledge, tools or institutions. It is the result of political choices”, he said, adding that this crisis of human rights mirrored and magnified every other global fracture.
“Humanitarian needs are exploding while funding collapses. Inequalities are widening at staggering speed. Countries are drowning in debt and despair. Climate chaos is accelerating,” he stressed.
And amid multiplying conflicts where aggressors continue to act with impunity, Guterres maintained that this was because governments continued to ignore fundamental human rights enshrined in international law.
In his last speech to the Council as UN Secretary-General before his second five-year term ends on December 31, Guterres reiterated his long-held concerns about the drivers of insecurity and inequality which had left migrants “harassed, arrested and expelled”, refugees scapegoated and LGBTIQ+ communities vilified.
Even technology – and especially artificial intelligence – is increasingly being used to “suppress rights, deepen inequality and expose marginalized people to new forms of discrimination both online and offline”, the world’s top diplomat warned, before urging a renewed commitment to the values of multilateral solidarity set out in the UN Charter.
“Human rights are not West or East, North or South, they are not a luxury, they are not negotiable. They are the foundation of a more peaceful and secure world. And states are bound by their obligations under the Charter and international law.”
Guterres appealed to the international community to not let the erosion of human rights become the accepted price of political expediency or geopolitical competition.
“Do not let power write a new rulebook in which the vulnerable have no rights and the powerful have no limits,” he urged.
Laws of war are brutally violated
Expanding on that theme, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said that at a time when some governments were weakening the multilateral system, violations of international law needed to be called out, “regardless of the perpetrators”.
“A fierce competition for power, control and resources is playing out on the world stage at a rate and intensity unseen for the past 80 years,” Türk said.
People were feeling unmoored, anxious and insecure. The gears of global power were shifting; the consequences were not clear, he said.
“The use of force to resolve disputes between and within countries is becoming normalized. Inflammatory threats against sovereign nations are thrown about, with no regard to the fire they could ignite,” the High Commissioner added.
He warned that the laws of war are being brutally violated.
“Mass civilian suffering – from Sudan, to Gaza, to Ukraine, to Myanmar – is unfolding before our eyes,” Türk said.
In Sudan, there needed to be accountability for all violations by all parties – “notably, the war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by the Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher. Such atrocities must not be repeated in Kordofan or elsewhere.“
All those with influence needed to act urgently to put an end to the “senseless war”.
He stressed that the situation in Gaza remains catastrophic.
“Palestinians are still dying from Israeli fire, cold, hunger, and treatable diseases. The aid allowed in is not enough to meet the massive needs,” the High Commissioner said.
“There are concerns over ethnic cleansing in both Gaza and the West Bank, where Israel is accelerating efforts to consolidate unlawful annexation.”
On Ukraine, the UN human rights chief noted that civilian casualties have soared, and Russia’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy and water infrastructure could amount to international crimes.
“The fighting needs to end, and I urge a focus on human rights and justice in any ceasefire or peace agreement,” he said.
Türk also addressed other devastating wars and conflicts around the world.
“In Myanmar, five years after the military coup, the awful conflict is claiming even more civilian lives, and the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. The recent elections staged by the military have only deepened people’s despair.”
Meanwhile, violence and tensions were resurging in some countries, including South Sudan and Ethiopia. And authorities in Iran had violently repressed mass protests with lethal force, killing thousands.
“States need to be persistent objectors to violations of the law – by pursuing accountability, and by clearly denouncing these egregious crimes with consistency, and without exception,” Türk said.
“Developments around the world point to a deeply worrying trend: domination and supremacy are making a comeback. If we listen to the rhetoric of some leaders, what lurks behind it is a belief that they are above the law, and above the UN Charter.”
However, not everyone is watching events unfold from the sidelines.
“When we come together, we wield more power than any autocrat or tech billionaire. The struggle for human rights can never be derailed by the whims of a handful of leaders with reactionary, supremacist agendas,” Türk said.
“While some states are weakening the multilateral system, we need bolder and more joined-up responses.”
In the coming weeks, a Global Alliance for Human Rights would be set in motion to capture the energy and commitment that was palpable everywhere. This cross-regional, multi-stakeholder coalition of states, businesses, cities, philanthropists, scientists, artists, philosophers, young people, and civil society would represent the quiet majority who wanted a different world.
“Our future depended on our joint commitment to defend every person’s rights, every time, everywhere,” Türk said.