It’s time to “build a renewed consensus on the power of human rights,” says Türk

Dear Colleagues, friends,

Thank you to the organisers of this conference for your invitation. I am sorry I cannot be with you as you embark on this very timely initiative.

As each of you knows only too well, these are extremely difficult times for human rights.

Global challenges coalesce around us. Each formidable on its own - together forming a volatile mix. Not least, of course, the situation in Israel and Gaza, which is one of intolerable suffering.

But, more broadly, our world is suffering from powerful and destructive trends.

Conflicts are at the highest level since 1945. Inequalities are deepening, polarization persists within and between countries, civic space remains under pressure and technological innovation in the digital sphere accelerates largely ungoverned.

These destabilising trends fuel the triple planetary crisis –a human rights crisis existential in its nature.

In the face of such stark realities, it is worth casting our minds back to the time when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted 75 years ago.

An era whose bleakness, divisions and uncertainty holds much resonance, I think, with our own.

Two brutal global wars had been fought within 20 years. The world had experienced the horrors of genocide, the advent of the nuclear bomb, economic ruin and the dislocation of millions of refugees.

The Declaration emerged as a determined attempt to end vicious cycles of terror and destruction and poverty.

In recognising our common humanity and articulating our inherent rights, this remarkable document drew on our collective wisdom and experiences - across cultures and eras.

In these fractious and challenging times, it is to this universality of rights – and the Declaration’s vision of rights as solutions – that we must return with renewed vigour.

Human rights measures are the only way to make development inclusive, participatory and, therefore, sustainable; to shape laws that are both just and trusted to resolve disputes; to ensure our societies are equitable and that they benefit fully from the contributions of every individual, without discrimination or repression.

They are also the only way to ensure accountability, promote reconciliation and set a path towards enduring peace.

They are also the ultimate tool of prevention.

Human rights violations are crisis incubators. Grievances linked to repression, discrimination, exploitation and injustice of all kinds lay the groundwork for violence to erupt.

Prior to my current mandate, I spent 30 years working on situations of failed prevention. Situations where conflict exploded, with terrible consequences for civilians; or where years of discrimination and marginalization metastasized into ethnic cleansing; or where deprivation had become so overwhelming that people were forced to flee on a massive scale.

An obvious lesson, but one repeatedly ignored – it is far, far better to address such issues before they spiral into disaster.

In a world that is changing with breakneck speed, failure to uphold human rights will not lead to stasis. It will lead to deepening hostility, suffering and violence. And the loss of our capacity to deter crises or to deliver solutions.

So it is absolutely critical that we use this moment, of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as a rallying point.

To build a renewed consensus on the power of human rights as our connector - and as our proven guide to solutions for the problems facing us today and those yet to come.

It is clear to me that the human rights ideal has been one of the most constructive movements of ideas in human history. And, overall, one of the most successful.

Despite all the progress made - the scale, complexity and speed of the multiple challenges we are facing means, without doubt, it cannot be business as usual.

We need to frame new narratives; draw fully on perspectives and expertise from other disciplines; experiment with novel tools of prevention, protection and promotion of all rights; seed innovative collaborations; think creatively about our partnerships and methods of engagement – and, indeed, interrogate the very way in which we think about the future landscape for rights.

Which is why initiatives such as FORGE are so welcome.

And which is why one of the priority areas for my Office has been stepping up our work on economic, social and cultural rights – for far too long artificially, and unhelpfully, sidelined in rights discourse and action.

The uncomfortable reality is that many nations’ economies are today human rights free zones - dominated unhealthily by a focus on maximizing short-term monetary returns to shareholders regardless of the human rights costs imposed. We have poverty levels not seen in a generation, escalating hunger, skyrocketing income and wealth inequalities fuelling political instability and amplifying mistrust, alongside mounting inequalities among States.

This cannot go on. What we need, instead, is a widespread embrace of the Human Rights Economy. An approach which ensures economic, industrial, trade, social and environmental policies are all firmly guided by human rights norms and standards. And that this is equally the case for business models, investment decisions and consumer choices.

We are also following closely the trajectory of the triple planetary crisis, already bearing down upon us. A few months ago on a visit to southern Iraq, I experienced the oppressive intensity of 50 degrees Celsius heat in an arid neighbourhood whose waterways and majestic date palms are now history.

The vision and leadership shown by young people all over the world on the climate emergency has been extraordinary – a powerful beacon in a landscape riven with political inaction. I have been particularly struck by how young activists have been at the forefront of the recent wave of innovative, human rights-based litigation to hold States and businesses to account on their climate policies, many pressing important questions about the rights of future generations. I see in this litigation much potential for triggering fundamental shifts in approach.

Whether on climate or on any other issue, the faith of young people in their governments to deliver on their needs and aspirations is something that should be of concern to us all. A recent survey by the Open Society Foundations, drawing on participants in 30 representative countries, found young people to be more disillusioned than older generations with the capacity of democratic politics to solve issues. This is very troubling.

In this hyper-contested, unstable global environment how, then, do we find the pathway to solutions?

First, we need to transcend geopolitical divisions, through a common language, and a sense of common goals. An approach that is ideologically neutral drawing on the deep, shared values of humanity.

Second, solutions for the multitude of challenges must be complementary. Measures to advance sustainable development must also mitigate climate change and address systematic discrimination. Cohesion drives progress. The alternative is wasted energy and missed opportunities.

Third, solutions need to be anchored in our most instinctive of reflexes: solidarity and empathy. Today, the people with the least are being hurt the most.

Fourth, effective solutions will also need the free and meaningful participation by all. We need to draw on the creativity, the skills and the insights of everyone, especially those marginalized.

What we need, in short, is the map laid out for us by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The HR75 Initiative that my Office is running seeks to recapture the spirit of the Declaration and project it forwards into the decades to come.

Fostering a strong, diverse, worldwide constituency united in their commitment to human dignity and freedom as the foundations for peace, justice and equality.

With the objective of ensuring this anniversary moment becomes a turning point in our journey towards a rights-respecting world.

Our year-long initiative will culminate in a High-Level Event in December in Geneva, connected to regional hubs and with global participation online.

We are seeking pledges from an array of actors, including States, civil society, UN entities and business, on concrete human rights action that will be transformative in scope.

Rights belong to each one of us and I am asking everyone to play their part.

Because the cost of inaction is too high a price to pay.

In this time of crisis - when the future is uncertain, discord reigns and solutions seem beyond our grasp – it is our core values, embodied in human rights, that can steer us wisely onto a brighter path.

Thank you.