Human rights are facing a deliberate and dangerous rollback across the globe, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday (February 23), citing mounting civilian suffering in conflicts from Sudan to Gaza and Ukraine.
Addressing the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Guterres said the international system built on law and accountability is being eroded by brute force and political calculation.
“The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force,” he said, adding that rights are being “pushed back deliberately, strategically, and sometimes proudly.”
His remarks come at a time when the UN’s human rights architecture is grappling with severe financial strain. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told delegates that his office is operating in “survival mode” due to deep funding cuts and growing political pressure on UN experts. He described the current geopolitical climate as the most intense competition for power and resources since World War II.
According to Reuters, the United States the UN’s largest financial contributor has paid only $160 million of the more than $4 billion it owes to the organization, exacerbating an already critical funding gap. Guterres warned that “humanitarian needs are exploding while funding collapses,” underscoring the widening mismatch between global crises and available resources.
Funding shortages have already stalled key accountability efforts. The UN confirmed that two investigations launched in 2025 one into alleged war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and another into rights abuses in Afghanistan have yet to become operational due to a lack of resources. Diplomats privately acknowledge that while several member states support strengthening the human rights system, political divisions and budgetary constraints continue to hamper progress.
Guterres also sounded the alarm over what he described as blatant violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories, warning that they threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state. “The Two-State solution is being stripped away in broad daylight. The international community cannot allow it to happen,” he said.
Earlier this month, Israel’s cabinet approved new measures to consolidate control over the occupied West Bank and facilitate land purchases by settlers a move Palestinian officials condemned as a “de-facto annexation.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, has repeatedly argued that the creation of a Palestinian state would pose a security threat to Israel.
The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, is widely viewed by much of the international community as the core territory of a prospective Palestinian state under a two-state framework, a solution long endorsed by the majority of UN member states.
As conflicts intensify and accountability mechanisms struggle for funding, UN officials warned that the credibility of the global human rights system itself now hangs in the balance.
BOB Post
