UN Drives New Initiatives to Stem Rights Abuses at Annual Human Rights Council Session
At its 60th regular session in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council launched an ambitious initiative called “UN80” aimed at reducing human rights violations worldwide.
The campaign emphasizes global dialogue, leveraging technology and innovative funding, while the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, issued stark warnings about eroding rules of war and growing abuses in key conflict areas, Jurist News reported.
At the Geneva session, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned alarming violations and a breakdown in accountability. He remarked that the “rules of war are being shredded,” with little accountability in conflicts from Ukraine to Sudan, Myanmar, and Gaza—marking an unprecedented global slide. Türk spotlighted countries turning away from multilateral frameworks, further threatening international norms and humanitarian protections.
In response, the UN unveiled UN80, a strategic campaign designed to involve every member state—even those in opposition—in open discussions and positive advocacy for human rights. The initiative includes partnerships with technological and AI-driven enterprises to bolster human rights, alongside plans for new funding models to secure support for human rights bodies.
Türk also warned about increasing violence and deadly escalation in Ukraine, as July marked the deadliest month since 2022, according to the UN. Atrocities targeting minorities and the perils of online hate speech were singled out as urgent concerns in both regional and digital spheres.
Despite these efforts, the UN’s human rights mechanisms face crippling budget shortfalls. Türk revealed a looming $60 million funding gap for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Already, only $179 million of the $246 million annual budget has been secured, with additional extra-budgetary funding falling sharply. This financial crisis could strip UN human rights presence from up to 11 countries and forced the shortening of the current Human Rights Council session by 2.5 days
