Good morning, it’s good to see many of you here today. In just over a year as High Commissioner for Human Rights, I have met, during my travels, with people from numerous countries, across all...

Excellencies, Friends, Colleagues, It is a pleasure to be speaking here today. Sport, at its core, is a celebration of the human being. Of being human, of vitality. Beyond the obvious physical...

GENEVA (4 December 2023) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called today for policies supporting human rights education programmes, particularly “prioritising young people in...

The Genocide Convention is a grave and urgent document. This first human rights treaty in the history of the United Nations, it was adopted on the eve of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

Today we celebrate the invaluable contributions of people with disabilities – agents of change and progress in our communities. People with disabilities have the right to lead dignified and...

We sometimes speak about the abolition of slavery as though it’s already been achieved. But there are more than 50 million victims of slavery today – right now. One in four of them are children...

The resumption of hostilities in Gaza is catastrophic. I urge all parties and States with influence over them to redouble efforts, immediately, to ensure a ceasefire – on humanitarian and human rights...

GENEVA (30 November 2023) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday deplored the decision by Russia’s Supreme Court to label what it termed “the international LGBT movement” as...

Distinguished friends and colleagues, This is a pivotal moment in history. The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights coincides with a period of rapid and transformative changes...

Twenty-five years ago the General Assembly recognised the right to defend human rights – a right that flows from and builds on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration on human...