Category: Human Rights

Without binding rules, independent oversight and clear limits, the technology could become impossible to control, the High Commissioner told the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Mr. Türk raised the prospect of AI systems becoming so powerful that their developers could no longer control them. “AI that escapes its testing environment, or blackmails developers to prevent […]

Key points Türk calls for an immediate ceasefire and end to foreign involvement Civilians face growing attacks, including from long-range drones SAF and RSF may have committed war crimes Sudan’s healthcare system has suffered extensive damage Now well into its fourth year, the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support […]

Seventeen years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, the latest report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, updates the current human rights situation in the country. The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office in September 2024, promising justice for past rights violations. Yet, as the high […]

In a country having among the world’s highest numbers of missing persons, Karla Quintana, head of the UN Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syria, provided a snapshot of ongoing efforts. Having processed more than 75,000 documents and sharing information with key partners, the institution has also been focusing on missing migrants and children and […]

The appeal by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran follows the 19 July execution of two other men in the same case – Erfan Esfandiari, reportedly 18-years-old, and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, a 23-year-old Afghan national – which it strongly condemned.  The development is unfolding against a backdrop of longstanding UN concern over the surge in the use of the death penalty in Iran and ongoing […]

In a speech to Member States on Thursday, the veteran diplomat said his three priorities would be inclusivity, accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and renewing trust in multilateralism, including by prioritising “substance over procedural routine” when it comes to the council’s work. ECOSOC is the UN’s central platform for coordinating economic, social and environmental policy and […]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is deeply alarmed about the resumption of Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea this week and the renewed threats to maritime navigation, his Spokesperson said in a statement.  The Yemeni armed movement formally known as Ansar Allah, backed by Iran, recently entered the conflict and have threatened to blockade the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key shipping route to the Red […]

Lebanon faces crises including delayed elections, economic collapse and conflict. More than 4,300 people have been killed and 12,200 more have been injured in Lebanon since Iran-backed Hezbollah militants joined the regional war triggered by US-Israeli attacks on 2 March, according to national authorities. “I am concerned that the overall conduct resulting in large scale […]

These are not isolated incidents. They are the routine texture of life for Afghans under Taliban rule this spring, according to a new report from the UN mission in the country, UNAMA, that catalogues in granular and often chilling detail how the space for women, minorities and dissent keeps shrinking.   Between April and June 2026, UN human rights monitors recorded arrests over hairstyles, public […]

“Statelessness affecting Rohingya refugees and the protracted situation of displacement contributes to serious risks of human trafficking with devastating consequences for victims,” the Human Rights Council-appointed experts said in a statement. Long denied citizenship in Myanmar and facing brutal attacks from the armed forces and police that escalated in 2017, the UN has described the ethnic minority […]