Good morning, this is Kasmira. The Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room at the Palais des Nations was filled yesterday morning with delegates from different diplomatic missions. They came to hear the UN's rights chief Volker Türk give his open address at the summer session of the Human Rights Council, in which he deplored and condemned the trampling of rights in all forms across the world. But it was his lament of "the cruelty of war" that took precedence, with another stark warning of what could happen if warring parties continue to "push the boundaries of what is acceptable".

Elsewhere, the UN's outgoing humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths also spoke of the breadth of human suffering. Plus, a new report warns of developments in AI breeding a new surge in Holocaust denial.

Kasmira Jefford

19.06.2024

On our radar

Photo article

The UN's high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, addressed the 56th session of the Human Rights Council on Tuesday 18 June. (UN Photo)

UN rights chief calls for de-escalation of violence along Israel-Lebanon border to prevent full-scale war. The United Nations’ top human rights official has called on “all actors with influence” to take action to prevent a full-fledged war from breaking out in the Middle East, amid escalating violence between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, Volker Türk said he was “extremely worried” about the repercussions of the war in Gaza across the region after intensifying cross-border strikes along Israel’s northern border in recent weeks.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Here's what else is happening

🎒Number of children killed in global conflicts tripled in 2023. Global conflicts killed three times as many children and twice as many women in 2023 than in the previous year, as overall civilian fatalities swelled 72 per cent, Volker Türk also told the opening session on Tuesday.
CBS News (EN)
🗞️AI could help spread false and misleading information on Holocaust, UNESCO report warns. The UN agency said that deniers may generate unreliable digital content that could question the genocide.
Associated Press (EN)
⛑️UN humanitarian chief: World leaders are failing us. Martin Griffiths, the outgoing head of OCHA writes that the “breadth and depth of human suffering” during his three-year tenure surpassed what he had expected.
New York Times (EN)
📋Global attitudes towards refugees. A survey by Ipsos and the UN refugee agency released ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June found that three quarters of people questioned in 52 nations felt people fleeing conflict and persecution should receive protection in other countries.
Relief Web (EN)

Opinion of the day

⚖️"The importance of cleaning up your own backyard. Alain Werner, director of rights group Civitas Maxima, reviews how countries have addressed abuses committed at home before having to rely on transnational justice.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

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