United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warns the potential spillover of dozens of conflicts around the world is threatening global peace and causing human rights violations to surge in all regions. He says that widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law are generating devastating impact on millions of civilians, while displacement and humanitarian crises have already reached an unprecedented scale.
Türk, who presented an update about the situation of human rights around the world at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday, painted a frightening picture of a world where proliferating conflicts are devastating the lives of millions of civilians.
“Rarely has humanity faced so many rapidly spiraling crises,” he said, noting that 55 conflicts around the world are “battering people’s lives, destroying economies, and profoundly damaging human rights” by subjecting millions of people to widespread violations and “upending hopes for multilateral solutions.”
He said displacement and humanitarian crises have reached an unprecedented scale, legitimate governments are being toppled and those in power choose war to resolve national and international problems.
Türk warned all these conflicts are having a serious regional and global impact.
“Overlapping emergencies make the specter of spillover conflict very real,” he said. “The war in Gaza has explosive impact across the Middle East. Conflicts in other regions including in the Horn of Africa, Sudan and the Sahel could also escalate sharply,” adding that increasing militarization on the Korean Peninsula raises threat levels.
“The war in Gaza already has generated dangerous spillover in neighboring countries and I am deeply concerned that in this powder keg, any spark could lead to a much broader conflagration. This would have implications for every country in the Middle East, and many beyond it,” he said.
In zipping through the existing situations of dozens of countries, Türk provided a grim snapshot of prevailing conditions on the African continent. He called the deteriorating security crisis in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo alarming.
While commending Ethiopia for the steps it has taken in ending military operations against the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, he said the humanitarian situation in the northern region remained very serious and “persistent human rights violations in areas still under the control of Eritrean and Amhara forces, remain obstacles to durable peace.”
He called the human rights situation in both Mali and Burkina Faso very worrying, noting that military operations have intensified in these countries, with armed groups committing grave human rights violations against their civilian populations.
In addition, the High Commissioner for Human Rights gave an update on many other situations of concern around the world.
Some information for this report provided by VOA.
Further information
Full text: Türk's global update to the Human Rights Council, remarks, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 55th session of the Human Rights Council, delivered on March 4, 2024
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/03/turks-global-update-human-rights-council