UN rights chief launches $500M appeal for 2025, saying 'lives at stake'

Addressing delegates in Geneva, Volker Turk outlined the critical work of his office over the past year and the urgent need for continued support.

The human rights office documented 15,000 human rights violations around the world, helped secure the release of over 3,100 arbitrarily detained individuals, provided support to over 10,000 survivors of contemporary forms of slavery and more than 49,000 survivors of torture and their families, Turk said.

He added that monitoring missions, legal advocacy, and reform efforts spanned crises from Syria and Gaza to Sudan, Ukraine, and Haiti.

He highlighted his recent visit to Syria and Lebanon, marking the first-ever visit by a UN human rights chief to Damascus. He stressed that human rights must be at the center of Syria’s transition, as well as global efforts to address conflicts, deepening inequalities, and the impact of climate change.

The rights chief also warned of growing risks in the digital sphere, vowing to push for stronger human rights safeguards in AI and social media.

He called for enhanced early-warning systems to prevent atrocities before they escalate.

Severe underfunding

Despite these efforts, the UN’s human rights work remains severely underfunded, Turk said, noting that the office received only $269 million of $500 million in voluntary contributions last year—4% less than in 2023.

He urged governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders to step up, warning that "lives are at stake if we don't invest in human rights."

"I'm very concerned that if we do not reach our funding target in 2025 we will leave people in all countries I've mentioned behind, and many more will struggle and fail without this support, people who should otherwise be free may remain in prison," he said. "Governments may continue with outdated and discriminatory policies, from education to employment to housing and health."

He concluded with a plea: "In this divided and polarized world, human rights assume even greater importance and must be one of the top priorities across the globe. And it does this priority needs to be reflected also in the funding on their own merits."

"We also know how much human rights are important for peace and security, for sustainable development and for humanitarian action," he said.