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The United Nations leader warned Monday (February 23, 2026) that "the regularisation of force" was spreading, arsenic the almighty trample connected planetary instrumentality and wield artificial quality and different technologies to onslaught quality rights.
"Human rights are nether a full-scale onslaught astir the world," Antonio Guterres told the opening of the U.N. Human Rights Council's yearly league successful Geneva. "The regularisation of instrumentality is being outmuscled by the regularisation of force."
The U.N. secretary-general stressed that "this battle is not coming from the shadows, oregon by surprise. It is happening successful plain show and often led by those who clasp the top power".
He did not notation circumstantial situations, though helium did dependable outrage astatine Russia's warfare successful Ukraine, wherever helium said much than 15,000 civilians had been killed successful 4 years of violence. "It is much than past clip to extremity the bloodshed," helium said. Mr. Guterres besides highlighted the "blatant violations of quality rights, quality dignity and planetary instrumentality successful the Occupied Palestinian Territory".
He charged that the trajectory successful the conflict-torn territories nether Israeli concern was "stark, wide and purposeful: the two-state solution is being stripped distant successful wide daylight". "The planetary assemblage cannot let it to happen," helium insisted.
Rights attacked 'deliberately, strategically
In his last in-person code to the U.N.'s apical rights body, Mr. Guterres said the worst conflict-hit areas were not the lone places wherever rights were eroding. "Around the world, quality rights are being pushed backmost deliberately, strategically and sometimes proudly," helium said.
"We are surviving successful a satellite wherever wide suffering is excused away, wherever humans are utilized arsenic bargaining chips, wherever planetary instrumentality is treated arsenic a specified inconvenience." U.N. rights main Volker Turk echoed the concerns.
In a "deeply worrying trend", helium warned that "domination and supremacy are making a comeback". "A fierce contention for power, control, and resources is playing retired connected the satellite signifier astatine a complaint and strength unseen for the past 80 years," helium warned.
"The usage of unit to resoluteness disputes betwixt and wrong countries is becoming normalised." Mr. Turk highlighted however "the gears of planetary powerfulness are shifting", calling for radical to set unneurotic to support rights and make "a beardown counterbalance to the top-down, autocratic trends we spot today".
'Democracies eroding'
While the U.N. says that conflicts are multiplying, impunity is spreading, and humanitarian needs are exploding, its accepted apical donor, Washington, has dramatically slashed its overseas assistance spending since President Donald Trump returned to powerfulness past year. Other large donors person followed.
"When quality rights fall, everything other tumbles," Mr. Guterres warned. The situation of respect for quality rights "mirrors and magnifies each different planetary fracture", helium said, pointing retired that "inequalities are widening astatine staggering speed.
At the aforesaid time, "climate chaos is accelerating, and technology, particularly artificial intelligence, is progressively being utilized successful ways that suppress rights, deepen inequality and exposure marginalised radical to caller forms of favoritism some online and offline", helium warned.
Mr. Turk, meanwhile, lambasted leaders, without naming them, who look to judge "that they are supra the law, and supra the U.N. Charter".
"They assertion exceptional status, exceptional information oregon exceptional motivation judgement to prosecute their ain docket astatine immoderate cost," helium said, pointing to however "some weaponise their economical leverage". "They dispersed disinformation to distract, soundlessness and marginalise," helium charged.
What is clear, Mr. Guterres warned, was that "across each front, those who are already susceptible are being pushed further to the margins". "Democracies eroding, migrants harassed, arrested, and expelled with full disregard for their quality rights and their humanity. Refugees scapegoated," helium pointed out, besides highlighting however "LGBTIQ+ communities [are] vilified, minorities and indigenous peoples targeted, spiritual communities attacked".
Mr. Guterres, who is to measurement down this twelvemonth aft a decennary astatine the U.N. helm, called for urgent enactment to reverse the trend. "Do not fto powerfulness constitute a caller rulebook successful which the susceptible person nary rights and the almighty person nary limits," helium said.
