The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, considered the presence of Muslims and other migrants and religious minorities in Western countries to be healthy and positive, and not a cause for concern, while acknowledging that Europeans have significant concerns about the presence of these minorities.
Türk’s statement came during his speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, warning at the time of the spread of “great replacement conspiracy theories” in many countries that provoke fear of foreigners.
Türk explained that “this concern about the presence of foreigners and migrants, including Muslims and religious minorities, and their attempts to control their countries is based on false, racist ideas that directly incite violence.”
The UN official emphasized that “racially mixed and multicultural societies should not be feared, but rather seen as beneficial for people everywhere.”
He confirmed that he is “concerned about the increasing impact of the so-called great replacement theory prevalent in Europe and North America, which suggests that Muslims, Jews, non-whites, and migrants seek to replace or suppress the cultures of the countries and peoples they live among.”
The human rights commissioner believed that these deep-seated, racist, and delusional ideas “directly influenced many perpetrators of violence.”
