The United Nations’ top human rights official warned Wednesday that fundamental freedoms are being squeezed worldwide, battered by shrinking budgets, rising authoritarianism and a surge in anti-rights campaigns – even as young people mount one of the most energetic protest waves in years.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said global rights protections are “underfunded, undermined and under attack,” with his own office operating in “survival mode” amid a $90 million shortfall that has wiped out roughly 300 jobs and forced deep cuts to treaty-monitoring work.
He said the financial strain mirrors a broader collapse in humanitarian and civil society funding, while well-coordinated anti-rights groups have drawn nearly $1.2 billion in Europe alone since 2019.
Türk delivered his assessment on the eve of International Human Rights Day, framing a world where arms dealers flourish, rights defenders face arrest, and democratic institutions continue to erode under the pressure of war and repression.
Conflicts, he said, continue to devastate civilian populations.
