The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today offered a vision statement, with “signposts for the years to come” for human rights, as the world navigates an array of challenges.
Addressing the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Türk said the statement contained eight messages to guide renewed action for peace; economies that work for people and planet; effective governance; and guardrails for digital and scientific progress.
“It broadens the way we think about rights, in ways that can transform societies and our global community,” he told delegates, adding he hoped the plan would inform world leaders coming together for the Summit of the Future in September.
Titled “Human Rights: A Path for Solutions”, the statement was informed by extensive engagement with a range of actors following the year-long Human Rights 75 Initiative last year.
Seventy-five years ago, the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights signalled a new era of progress towards human dignity and agency for all, Türk said in the statement. “In retrospect, we have come a long way on that journey, but we are at a precarious moment and cannot take things for granted,” he added, citing devastating conflicts, the triple planetary crisis, skyrocketing inequalities, and new powerful technologies whose risks are yet to be grasped.
“As we confront these challenges, we recall the Declaration’s conviction that, no matter the context, it is through respect for human rights we craft a better future for ‘our human family’.”
In a world increasingly characterized by fragmentation, the High Commissioner said the year-long Human Rights 75 commemoration had allowed a rare opportunity …read more
Source:: Colombo Gazette