UN Human Rights Office Launches $400 Million Funding Appeal for 2026
UN Human Rights Office Launches $400 Million Funding Appeal for 2026
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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has launched an appeal to raise $400 million in 2026 to support the UN Human Rights Office’s global work amid severe funding shortfalls, JURIST NEWS reported.
Speaking on Thursday, Türk warned that underfunding in 2025 significantly weakened the UN’s human rights response. The office conducted about 5,000 human rights monitoring missions last year, down from 11,000 in 2024, while programmes in several countries were sharply reduced. In Myanmar, funding was cut by more than 60%, while initiatives in Honduras and Chad, including support for detainees held without legal basis, were curtailed or discontinued.
Türk said the funding crisis also affected the wider UN human rights system. Dozens of treaty body dialogues were cancelled, planned country visits by anti-torture bodies were reduced, and special rapporteurs and investigative mechanisms were unable to fully carry out their mandates.
He stressed that effective human rights monitoring is critical to preventing violence and abuses, warning that the world cannot afford a human rights system in crisis.
Despite constraints, the office reported that in 2025 its staff operated in 87 countries, observed more than 1,300 trials, supported 67,000 torture survivors, and helped secure the release of over 4,000 detainees.
