“Human rights — all human rights — are the solid foundations of flourishing societies,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. “Together, we need to safeguard eighty years of progress on freedom, equality and justice.”

In his Global Update to the 60^th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Türk underlined the long-lasting value of human rights but also warned of dangerous global trends.

“Around the world, the long-established rules of war are being shredded – with virtually no accountability,” he said. “Pro-war propaganda is everywhere, from military parades to ramped up rhetoric. Sadly, there are no Peace parades, or Ministries of Peace.”

“Russia’s war in Ukraine has turned even more deadly. In July, more civilians were killed and injured than in any month since May 2022, as the Russian Federation intensified attacks along the frontline and on cities across the country,” Türk said.

He pointed to the widespread impact of violence and impunity, noting that thousands of civilians have been killed this year, with hostilities intensifying in Darfur and Kordofan.

“The people of Myanmar are caught up in a harrowing human rights calamity, four years since the coup,” he said. “In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is damning evidence of continued grave violations and abuses by all parties to the conflict.”

On Gaza, Türk said that Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza; its infliction of indescribable suffering and wholesale destruction; its hindering of sufficient lifesaving aid and the ensuing starvation of civilians are shocking the conscience of the world.

“The international community is failing in its duty. We are failing the people of Gaza,” he said. “I am horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric, and the disgraceful dehumanization of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials.”

Civic space under attack

Türk highlighted the shrinking of space for civil society and freedom of expression, and how repression has deepened through new legislation across the world.

“Authorities have used excessive force against protestors in Indonesia, Kenya, Togo and beyond,” he said. “Media freedom is declining, and human rights defenders are being criminalised from Egypt to the Russian Federation.”

Türk stated that recent laws in Ecuador could reduce the accountability of law enforcement, expand the powers of the intelligence services and reduce civic space. He added that the amnesty law adopted last month in Peru is a step backwards for justice and truth.

He also warned about the effects of disinformation and hate speech, saying that the lies and nihilism that fragment societies online translate into real attacks on real people.

“In Cambodia and Thailand, for example, social media vitriol has been a factor in today’s tensions. In Spain, online media were weaponized to instigate physical violence against migrants.”

In Chad, Nigeria, and other countries in the region, he said, conflicts between herders and farmers are aggravated by hateful narratives, escalating to deadly clashes.

“From South Sudan to Syria, hate speech compounds tensions and widens divisions,” Türk added.

UN