The UN logo pictured during a Human ights Council special session on Friday 4 November, 2025. (Keystone/Salvatore i Nolfi)

💎HUMAN RIGHTS KICK OFF. The UN’s top right body begins its first regular session of the year today with a packed agenda and a host of complicated backdrops.

VIP. Over 100 top government officials will lay out their human rights vision before the Human Rights Council. UN chief António Guterres will also be at the Palais des Nations for what is likely to be his last address in person to the body before the end of his term in December.

Money woes. With the UN liquidity crunch showing no signs of letting up, human rights mechanisms are still getting squeezed. The UN Human Rights Office has only received about a fifth of this year’s budget to last until April, meaning key investigations on the eastern Congo and Afghanistan have been unable to begin operations. Meanwhile, the list of tasks given by the council keeps growing. But there is a sense that delegations are especially mindful and will at least try to keep resolutions simple and lean where possible.

Good signs. The financial troubles reached a new low this year, as the UN said it would be forced to pause sign language and limit interpretation services, as we recently reported. But the decision was walked back, we hear, after delegations complained to New York.

Four years on. The devastating war in Ukraine will enter its fifth year on Tuesday, after US-brokered peace talks in Geneva last week failed to make much progress. Though no date has been set, Kyiv and Moscow are planning another round soon, with Geneva rumoured to be on the shortlist to play host again.

🔍Read our analysis about what went wrong Ukraine-Russia talks end abruptly with mixed signals

Russia’s deputy foreign minister Dmitry Lyubinsky is coincidentally slated to speak that day. It may cause some commotion in the room, we hear.

Like every year since Russia’s invasion, Ukraine and its European allies will seek to renew the Commission of Inquiry tasked with documenting serious abuses committed in the war. Amid geopolitical divides, rallying support only gets harder and harder.

Not so new. Another UN probe up for renewal is the COI on Syria. Last year, the new government had backed the mechanism, breaking with years of hostility under Assad. After more than a year in power and amid internal tensions, it remains to be seen whether Damascus still welcomes the scrutiny.

New champions. This year will see an unusual cohort of human rights promoters at the council. Russia is expected to table a resolution to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights. Europeans could be in a tough spot – snubbing a resolution that has enjoyed consensus in the past, just because it’s Russia’s, could make them look like sore team players.

Saudi Arabia is also floating an initiative on multilateralism, though the details are still vague. This follows Riyadh's growing efforts to carve a place as a UN champion, seeking to host more conferences and ramping up aid – including to the UN – now sitting comfortably among top Western donors.

Old divides. Still, some of the old divergences are bound to resurface as countries negotiate some 35 resolutions. Language on certain issues, such as gender, LGBTQI rights and climate change, is often a source of contention.

Controversy. While UN experts are used to flak, mainly from the governments they scrutinise, western states have usually defended their independence despite political differences.

That line blurred last week when several European ministers urged the resignation of the UN’s Palestinian rights expert, Francesca Albanese, after a doctored clip of a speech prompted allegations of antisemitism. France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said he would seek her removal at the council, though it remains unclear if or how.

The backlash drew outcry from UN experts, staff, NGOs and ex-diplomats, who warn of mounting political pressure on the system. Albanese was recently added to the US sanctions list alongside International Criminal Court judges over efforts targeting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for the destruction of Gaza.

ICYMI. The race to succeed WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is starting to heat up. Health Policy Watch has a comprehensive listof all the rumoured names circulating.

☢️IRAN-US TALKS #4. Iran and the United States have agreed to hold a further round of nuclear talks this Thursday in Geneva, as Trump continues to pile pressure on Tehran after ordering a massive build-up of naval forces in the Middle East.

Oman's foreign minister Badr Albusaidi, whose country has acted as mediator throughout the process, confirmed the talks, expressing hopes that there would be "a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalising the deal".

🗞️Read our story on the last round of talks here.

– Michelle Langrand and Kasmira Jefford