V. Turk condemns disinformation attacks and other attacks against the United Nations

Speaking at the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s key annual session, he condemned widespread disinformation targeting UN humanitarian organizations, UN peacekeepers and his office.

“The United Nations has become a lightning rod for manipulative propaganda and a scapegoat for political failures,” warned V. Turkas.

“This is deeply damaging to the common good and a heartless betrayal of the many people whose lives depend on it,” he added.

In his opening speech, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized that the UN has a “unique opportunity to enable states to discuss and resolve pressing global issues”.

“This pooling power is especially important now, when the scale of conflicts, the threat to the planet and the digital transformation require urgent solutions,” said V. Turkas.

He also drew attention to the bloody events in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti and many other parts of the world.

He was referring to attacks on the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, which Israel accuses of colluding with the Islamist militant group Hamas.

“UN humanitarian agencies are helping hundreds of millions of people to stay alive,” stressed Turk, who is not welcome in Israel, where authorities accuse him and his office of bias in favor of the Palestinians.

V. Turk expressed his concern that the ongoing negotiations on many vital issues do not pay enough attention to the human rights aspect.

“In the negotiations on treaties on pandemic prevention and cybercrime, as well as on plastic pollution, in the global debate on the regulation of artificial intelligence, in all these ongoing negotiations […] insufficient consideration is given to human rights obligations and potential harm to human rights,” he said.

V. Turk called for an end to the “dual attitude that if you are not for us and against our enemies, then you are also an enemy.”

He warned that “the illogicality of us and them” was leading to increasingly dangerous divisions, especially as elections approached.

“It’s all a distraction, a war-mongering policy that is slowly suppressing our deepest sense of compassion. Especially in times of deep division and fear, seeing the humanity in another is a lifeline that can distract us from the catastrophe,” said V. Turkas.