High Commissioner Türk updates Human Rights Council: Human rights are carriers of hope
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
We live in an age of extremes.
Raging wars, painful polarization, climate chaos, and head-spinning technological change make people feel disoriented and even powerless.
Strong forces are working to create and sustain that feeling.
Tech moguls, populists, and vested interests, amplified by social media echo chambers, tell us these trends are inevitable.
In fact, the opposite is true.
History is full of brave people who took action to resist oppression and demand their rights. People who called out injustice and inequality. People who refused to accept their fate, coming together to channel the universal values that underpin our humanity.
This truth is a force to be reckoned with, underpinning all we are doing.
The past years have been marked by a growing number of armed conflicts, and diminishing respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, and the United Nations Charter itself.
There are now more than 60 wars involving at least one State – the highest number since the end of the Second World War. The surge in conflict between States takes us into particularly dangerous territory.
I am alarmed by the resumption of attacks between the United States and Iran, affecting the entire Gulf region. Recent reports of civilian deaths and injuries, including at a wedding in Hormozgan province, are particularly concerning. The geopolitical and economic impacts of this entirely avoidable crisis are again reverberating around the world, and I appeal for an immediate return to negotiations.
Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, is on a menacing trajectory, with soaring civilian casualties and intensified attacks on energy infrastructure. While the overwhelming majority of civilians killed are Ukrainians, there are also reports of growing numbers of deaths and injuries in Russia.
I am horrified by reports that fully autonomous drones launched by the Russian Federation killed three Ukrainians last month. Ukraine has reportedly also field-tested such weapons. I join calls for the urgent prohibition of weapons that can take lives without human involvement.
There is only one way out of this madness: peace negotiations that respect the UN Charter.
In its fourth year, the war in Sudan is expanding. Parties to the conflict continue to launch attacks on markets, hospitals, fuel stations and other civilian infrastructure. I urge the Council to focus on the deteriorating situation in Kordofan, Blue Nile, and North and West Darfur, where civilians are at imminent risk. Again, there needs to be an immediate ceasefire, an end to foreign involvement, and a return to inclusive civilian rule.
In Gaza, Israel has killed more than 1,300 Palestinians in daily strikes, despite the ceasefire that was announced almost a year ago, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. It continues to restrict the entry of humanitarian aid. I am appalled by Israeli proposals for the forced expulsion of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, and the constant stream of dehumanising rhetoric by some senior officials.
I am also troubled that armed groups affiliated with Hamas have executed and tortured several Palestinians suspected of collaboration.
In the West Bank, Israel’s annexation is unfolding, unobstructed, despite the clear ruling of the International Court of Justice. What more will it take for States to take action to prevent the entrenchment of occupation across land earmarked for Palestinians under the two-state solution? They need to end the transfer to Israel of arms that risk being used to violate international law. Companies also need to end business practices that support illegal settlements.
We need far greater efforts by the international community towards sustainable peace, in which Palestine and Israel live side by side in equal dignity and rights, in line with UN resolutions and international law. Words of condemnation ring hollow in the face of deliberate violations and suffering.
In Lebanon, Israeli forces must end attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. My Office’s assessment team is investigating violations committed by both Israel and Hezbollah since 2 March; this is crucial for truth-telling and accountability.
Beyond these conflicts, there are many places around the world where people are neither at war, nor at peace.
Negotiations are breaking down. Ceasefires are disregarded.
I am concerned about renewed hostilities in South Sudan and escalating tensions in Yemen. I urge the parties to exercise restraint and the international community to do all it can to avert a return to all-out war.
And I again urge the Houthis... READ MORE https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/09/high-commissioner-turk-updates-human-rights-council-human-rights