UN rights chief calls for fresh thinking to tackle global challenges

The United Nations (UN) rights chief has said that the current complex challenges require fresh thinking and bolder political leadership to address abuses and find solutions.

Presenting his annual global report to the Human Rights Council, Volker Türk noted that the human rights landscape is compounded by conflict, discrimination, poverty, shrinking civic spaces, and the emergence of new human rights challenges such as the rise of artificial intelligence and surveillance.

He added that fresh thinking, political leadership, renewed commitments, and dramatically scaled-up financing, with the centrality of human rights at their core, are urgently needed to meet these challenges.

Turk said that to face the challenges of structural injustice and inequalities, world leaders need to build economies that build trust in government and advance people’s rights and well-being.

Written by Prossy Kisakye