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Funding cuts to human rights are comfort to dictators, UN's Turk says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 16, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 16, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
UN's Volker Turk warns that funding cuts to human rights efforts weaken global accountability and comfort dictators, impacting advocacy and early warning systems.
GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. human rights chief said on Monday that he was deeply worried about donor cuts to his office that would weaken global accountability efforts and be a comfort to dictators and authoritarians.
In an opening speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Turk warned that early warning systems for abuses as well as advocacy efforts for those wrongly imprisoned would be impacted by lower spending.
"Funding cuts to my office, and the broader human rights ecosystem, offer comfort to dictators and authoritarians," he told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva at the start of its four-week session.
(Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Miranda Murray)
The UN human rights chief expressed concern about donor cuts to his office, which he believes would weaken global accountability efforts.
Volker Turk stated that funding cuts to his office and the broader human rights ecosystem provide comfort to dictators and authoritarians.
Reduced funding could undermine early warning systems for abuses and advocacy efforts for those who are wrongly imprisoned.
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