Fighters in places such as Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine, Haiti, and Sudan are turning a “blind eye” to international law in general and the United Nations in particular, the globalist organization’s chief Antonio Guterres despaired Monday.
Speaking as the U.N.’s top human rights body opened its latest session in Geneva, Switzerland, the veteran Portuguese Socialist warned the world is becoming “less safe by the day.”
He then lashed out at countries that ignore the directions of the U.N. and its unelected high office holders who demand immediate action to end conflicts.
“Our world is changing at warp speed,” Guterres told the U.N. Human Rights Council. “The multiplication of conflicts is causing unprecedented suffering. But human rights are a constant.”
AP reports he reiterated his frequent calls for debt relief for some of the world’s poorest countries and greater spending to fight climate change.
He defended the agency for Palestinian refugees, praising UNRWA as the “backbone” of aid efforts in Gaza at a time when top Israeli authorities have called for its dismantling due to corruption and alliances with Hamas terrorists.
The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, also slammed “attempts to undermine the legitimacy and work” of the U.N. and its affiliates.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L) and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk talk as they arrive for the opening of 55th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on February 26, 2024. (GABRIEL MONNET/AFP via Getty Images)
“The U.N. has become a lightning rod for manipulative propaganda and a scapegoat for policy failures,” he said. “This is profoundly destructive of the common good, and it callously betrays the many people whose lives rely on it.”
The council was kicking off a six-week session of talks on Monday as conflicts continue unabated around the world and the U.N.’s voice is roundly ignored.