Trending 
The United Nations has raised concerns over the growing threat to global human rights, warning that the safeguards established after World War Two are facing their toughest test yet.
Speaking at the Human Rights Council’s annual session in Geneva on Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk cautioned that the world is witnessing a dangerous decline in respect for human rights and the rule of law.
“The global consensus on human rights is crumbling under the weight of authoritarians, strongmen, and oligarchs,” Türk said, calling for urgent action to prevent a return to the horrors of the past. He warned that if no effort is made to strengthen human rights protections, the world could once again experience mass atrocities.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also addressed the council, describing how fundamental rights are being steadily eroded.
“… human rights are being suffocated—by autocrats crushing opposition because they fear what a truly empowered people would do; by a patriarchy that keeps girls out of school and women at arm’s length from basic rights,” he stated.
Türk criticised the growing trend of leaders invoking national security and counterterrorism efforts to justify human rights violations. He warned that regional powers indifferent or hostile to human rights are gaining influence, and many governments involved in conflicts are disregarding international laws meant to protect civilians.
“The human rights edifice we have built up so painstakingly over decades has never been under so much strain,” he said, urging a united global effort to uphold human rights and prevent history from repeating itself.
