ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, warned on Monday that human rights are facing an alarming global decline, driven by ongoing wars, violence, and autocratic governments. Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Guterres expressed concern over the increasing suppression of human rights, which he described as “the oxygen of humanity.”
He pointed to autocrats who “crush opposition” because they fear the empowerment of the people, as well as patriarchal systems that keep girls out of schools and deny women their basic rights. “Human rights are being suffocated,” he said, stressing the role of violent conflict, where “warmongers thumb their nose at international law, international humanitarian law, and the UN Charter.”
Guterres also noted that wars and violence are depriving people of their fundamental rights, such as access to food, water, and education. The UN chief raised alarm over a “morally bankrupt” global financial system and the unchecked growth of technologies like artificial intelligence, which have the potential to violate human rights with ease.
He further highlighted the rising intolerance faced by vulnerable groups, including Indigenous peoples, migrants, and refugees. Guterres condemned voices of division that view human rights not as a benefit to humanity, but as an obstacle to their pursuit of power and profit.
In his address, Guterres warned that these issues pose a direct threat to the global systems and mechanisms that have been developed over the past 80 years to protect and advance human rights.
