Crisis of respect for human rights

Human rights are under a full-scale attack around the world. The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force. And this assault is not coming from the shadows. Or by surprise. It is happening in plain sight — and often led by those who hold the greatest power.

Around the world, human rights are being pushed back deliberately, strategically, and sometimes proudly. The consequences are devastating — as witnessed in the Council. And as written in the lives of people who suffer twice: first from violence, oppression, or exclusion — and then again from the world’s indifference.

When human rights fall, everything else tumbles. Peace. Development. Social cohesion. Trust. Solidarity. This is precisely why the tools of the Human Rights Council — such as the Special Rapporteurs, Special Procedures, investigative mechanisms, and the Universal Periodic Review — are essential.

And it is precisely why — as we mark the Council’s 20th anniversary — we also recognize it is more important than ever to translate geopolitical engagement into a path towards strengthening human rights everywhere.

We are living in a world where mass suffering is excused away … where humans are used as bargaining chips … where international law is treated as a mere inconvenience. Conflicts are multiplying and impunity has become a contagion. That is not due to a lack of knowledge, tools or institutions. It is the result of political choices.

This crisis of respect for human rights does not stand alone. It mirrors and magnifies every other global fracture. Humanitarian needs are exploding while funding collapses. Inequalities are widening at staggering speed. Countries are drowning in debt and despair. Climate chaos is accelerating. And technology — especially artificial intelligence — is increasingly being used in ways that suppress rights, deepen inequality, and expose marginalized people to new forms of discrimination both online and offline.

Across every front, those who are already vulnerable are being pushed further to the margins. And human rights defenders are among the first to be silenced when they try to warn us. In this coordinated offensive, human rights are the first casualty. We see it in a tightening grip on civic space. Journalists and activists jailed. NGOs shut down. Women’s rights rolled back. Children’s rights ignored. Persons with disabilities excluded.

Democracies eroding. The right of peaceful assembly crushed — and I condemn once again the recent violent repression of protests in Iran. Migrants harassed, arrested and expelled with total disregard for their human rights and their humanity. Refugees scapegoated. LGBTIQ+ communities vilified. Minorities and indigenous peoples targeted. Religious communities attacked. Online spaces poisoned by disinformation and hate — resulting in real-world harm.

Human rights are not a slogan for good times. They are a duty at all times. And so we must stand up for them — and even when it is difficult, inconvenient, or costly. Especially then.

That requires action on three urgent fronts. First, we must defend our shared foundations — without compromise.

The UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the instruments of international human rights law are not a menu. Leaders cannot pick the parts they like and ignore the rest.

And human rights themselves are also not divisible. Economic rights, social rights, cultural rights, civil rights and political rights — these are inherent, universal, inalienable and interdependent.

(Excerpts of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Human Rights Council in Geneva Switzerland on 23 February 2026.)