Geneva: Marking Human Rights Day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk delivered a stark assessment of the global landscape, warning that human rights are increasingly 'underfunded, undermined, and under attack,' even as youth-driven movements worldwide push back with renewed energy. Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Trk said 2024 had been a year 'full of dangerous contradictions,' with steep cuts to human-rights funding contrasted by soaring profits in the arms industry and the growing influence of well-financed anti-rights movements.
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, the High Commissioner revealed that his Office faced a shortfall of USD 90 million this year, resulting in the loss of around 300 staff positions and the scaling back of essential monitoring and advisory work in countries including Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Tunisia. Reviews of States' compliance with UN human-rights treaties also dropped sharply, from 145 last year to 103 in 2024.
At the same time, he noted, anti-rights and anti-gender networks mobilized nearly USD 1.2 billion in Europe alone between 2019 and 2023, backed by funders across Europe, Russia and the United States. Citing data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Trk underlined that revenues for the world's 100 largest arms companies reached a record USD 679 billion in 2024, boosted by conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and heightened geopolitical tensions.
Turning to current crises, the High Commissioner expressed deep concern over continuing civilian suffering: Gaza remains 'a place of unimaginable suffering,' he said, with Israeli attacks still occurring despite reduced intensity. In the West Bank, he warned of 'unprecedented levels of attacks' by Israeli forces and settlers. In the eastern DRC, clashes between government forces and the M23 armed group continue to displace civilians, including thousands fleeing Uvira in recent days despite the June 2025 Washington Peace Agreement. In Sudan, Trk described the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces as 'brutal' and 'senseless,' warning of the risk of atrocities on the scale of El Fasher.
Trk stressed that any ceasefire or peace agreement must be grounded in human rights, from prevention and negotiations to accountability and recovery. 'International law can never be set aside for political convenience,' he said. He also condemned the rising demonization of migrants and refugees, noting violent pushbacks, mass raids, and returns without due process in several countries. He urged States to adopt evidence-based policies consistent with international human-rights and refugee law.
The High Commissioner voiced particular alarm over patterns of democratic backsliding during electoral cycles worldwide, citing Myanmar's upcoming military-run 'election' as emblematic of repression, fear, and systemic discrimination. Despite the grim landscape, Trk emphasized that global activism - especially among young people - is mounting a powerful counterforce. He pointed to movements in Nepal, Serbia, Madagascar, Kenya, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Paraguay, the Philippines, Indonesia, Tanzania, Morocco and Peru, where citizens have mobilized against corruption, inequality and repression, and in support of freedom of expression and climate justice.
"These movements are not threats to national security,' he said. 'They are opportunities for transformational reform.' Trk closed on a note of resolve: 'Journalists, activists and human-rights defenders have won landmark victories for generations. We will continue to persevere.'