OMNI
CENTER FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, ECOLOGY, AND DEMOCRACY.
ANTHOLOGY ON UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.
December 10, 2025
Compiled by Dick Bennett.
What’s at Stake: “We are experiencing a world where commitments to protect and
promote human rights have reached alarming new lows. While we have long fought
against the degradation of rights by insisting on accountability of state and
private actors for harm and centering the demands of those most impacted by
systems of oppression in the U.S. and around the world, we mark this moment
while in a profound human rights crisis.
This
Human Rights Day invites a reckoning: How
did a global system built in the name of “universal rights” become structurally
incapable of constraining state violence? “ Center for Constitutional Rights,
December 10, 2025.
Contents
UNHCFHR 2025
The following are provided for critical contexts following
decades of budget reductions to the UNHCFHR and countless and often atrocious
attacks on human rights by nations. --D
UNHCFHR 2013.
Center for Constitutional Rights, December 10, 2025.
Autobiography of Mary Robinson, Everybody Matters
Ann Fagan Ginger, The U.N. Declaration of Human Rights Is the Law: A Guide to U.D.H.R.
Articles in Treaties Ratified by the U.S. (ed.) [2009], January 13, 2014.
My anthologies in the Gaza genocide and the Ukraine War should be
included.
AI
Overview
The UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the
UN's top official for promoting and protecting human rights globally,
currently held by Volker Türk of Austria, appointed in 2022. His office,
OHCHR, works to integrate human rights into all UN programs, advises
governments, and supports civil society, operating with field offices
worldwide. Türk recently
highlighted his office's struggle due to funding cuts, placing it in
"survival mode".
Key Roles & Responsibilities
- Leadership: Heads
the OHCHR, the
leading UN body for human rights.
- Advocacy: Speaks
out against violations and promotes adherence to international human
rights law.
- Integration: Works
to embed human rights across the entire UN system.
- Field
Operations: Manages human rights professionals and
monitors situations in over 90 field offices.
About Volker Türk
- Appointment: Became
High Commissioner in October 2022.
- Background: An
Austrian lawyer with extensive experience in the UN, particularly with
UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency).
- Focus: Advocates
for innovation in human rights and addresses crises, recently warning of
potential atrocities in Sudan and concerns in Hong Kong.
Recent Challenges
- Funding
Crisis: Facing severe budget shortfalls from donor
nations, impacting operations and staffing.
In
Summary
The UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights, currently Volker Türk, leads the crucial
OHCHR in its mission to safeguard human rights, but faces significant financial
hurdles as rights abuses increase globally, as noted in late 2025.
·
Volker
Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Welcome to the United Nations
·
Who's
Who on Human Rights at the UN - Better World Campaign
Better World Campaign
·
Global
Leadership Team - ohchr
ohchr
·
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Dive deeper in AI Mode
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High
Commissioner
https://www.ohchr.org › about-us › high-commissioner
is accountable to the Secretary-General and is responsible for all
the activities of OHCHR, as well as for ...
Past High Commissioners
Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Chile, 2018-2022 ·
Mr. Zeid Ra'ad Al ... |
Volker Türk
Mr. Türk is the current United Nations High
Commissioner for ... |
Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human ...
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Office_of_the_United...
Volker Türk of Austria, who succeeded Michelle Bachelet of Chile on 8 September 2022. In
2018–2019, the department ...
|
|
|
How we make a difference 2013
“UN Women for Peace” march on International Women´s Day, led by
Yoo Soon-taek, wife of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, with actor and
activist Susan Sarandon, and Monique Coleman, UN Champion for Youth, 8 March
2013
© UN Photo/Evan Schneider
ENDING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND
DISCRIMINATION: YOUTH AS AGENTS OF CHANGE
UN
Human Rights Chief recognizes the crucial role of youth to effect positive
transformative change by challenging political and social norms and addressing
stereotypes that perpetuate violence against women and girls. “What we need is
changed behaviour” Navi Pillay said at an interactive event with youth
activists.
Mistreatment in healthcare settings: when
a carer becomes a torturer
The Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan Méndez, analyses
forms of abuse in healthcare settings which could constitute torture.
Discrimination faced by rural women
impacts negatively food security
The UN independent expert on the right to food deplores
the negative impact of discrimination faced by rural women on food security, in
his new report to the Human Rights Council.
Human Rights
in the news
Genocide trial
in Guatemala
High Commissioner hails the start of the ground-breaking genocide
trial of
Pillay
condems Saudi Arabian executions
High Commissioner strongly condemns the executions of seven Saudi
Arabian nationals, saying “they clearly violate international safeguards in the
use of the death penalty.”
UN /
Private security contractors
The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries
announces the start of a study on the use of private military and security
companies by the UN bodies worldwide.
Use of drones in
Pakistan
Statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and
counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson, after three days of meetings in Islamabad,
Pakistan (11-13 March 2013).
DRC / deaths in
detention
A UN research shows that the number of deaths almost doubled in
2012 in detention centers in the
More
press releases ... Make a difference today
Read the latest speech or op-ed from the Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Meetings and events
Human Rights Council / 22th session
From : 25-02-2013 To : 22-03-2013
PN XX
Human Rights Committee / 107th session
From : 11-03-2013 To : 28-03-2013
PW G
Ad Hoc Committee on the elaboration of complementary
standards to ICERD / 5th session
From : 02-04-2013 To : 12-04-2013
PN XXI
Workshop on the impact of unilateral coercive measures on
the enjoyment of human rights
From : 05-04-2013 To : 05-04-2013
PN Room XII
Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) / 4th session
From : 08-04-2013 To : 19-04-2013
PN XII
From : 15-04-2013 To : 26-04-2013
PW 1st
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) / 9th session
From : 15-04-2013 To : 19-04-2013
PW G
WG on communications / 12th session
From : 22-04-2013 To : 26-04-2013
PW G
Working Group on the People of African Descent / 12th
session
From : 22-04-2013 To : 26-04-2013
PN XXI
UPR Working Group / 16th session
From : 22-04-2013 To : 03-05-2013
PN XX
WG on Arbitrary Detention / 66th session
From : 29-04-2013 To : 03-05-2013
PW 1st
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
/ 50th session
From : 29-04-2013 To : 17-05-2013
PW G
(ICC) International Coordinating Committee of National
Institutions / 26th session
From : 06-05-2013 To : 08-05-2013
PN XIX
Committee against Torture (CAT) / 50th session
From : 06-05-2013 To : 31-05-2013
PW 1st
Human Rights Council - Organizational Meeting / 23rd
session
From : 13-05-2013 To : 13-05-2013
PN XX
WG on the Right to Development / 14th session
From : 13-05-2013 To : 17-05-2013
PN XXVI
Pre-sessional WG - CESCR 51st session / 51st session
From : 21-05-2013 To : 24-05-2013
PW G
Human Rights Council / 23rd session
From : 27-05-2013 To : 14-06-2013
PN XX
Committee on the Rights of Child (CRC) / 63rd session
From : 27-05-2013 To : 14-06-2013
PW G
Conference of States Parties Convention on the Protecion of all
Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CPED) / 2nd session
From : 28-05-2013 To : 28-05-2013
NY
From : 30-05-2013 To : 30-05-2013
NY
Pre-sessional WG – CRC 64th session / 64th session
From : 17-06-2013 To : 21-06-2013
PW G
Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) / 20th
session
From : 17-06-2013 To : 21-06-2013
PN XXI
From : 17-06-2013 To : 21-06-2013
PN XXII
Meeting of persons chairing human rights treaty bodies /
25th session
From : 24-06-2013 To : 28-06-2013
PW G
WG on Situations / 12th session
From : 24-06-2013 To : 28-06-2013
PW 1st
From : 24-06-2013 To : 28-06-2013
PN XXIII
HR Committtee Pre-sess. WG on Communications. 108th
From : 01-07-2013 To : 05-07-2013
PW G
Expert mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples
(EMRIP) / 6th session
From : 08-07-2013 To : 12-07-2013
PW G
Human Rights Committee / 108th session
From : 08-07-2013 To : 26-07-2013
PW G
From : 08-07-2013 To : 26-07-2013
PN XVI
WG on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) /
100th session
From : 15-07-2013 To : 19-07-2013
PN IX
HRC/WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and
Practice / 7th session
From : 22-07-2013 To : 26-07-2013
NY
WG on the use of mercenaries / 19th session
From : 29-07-2013 To : 02-08-2013
NY
CEDAW Pre sessional WG for the 57th Session
From : 29-07-2013 To : 02-08-2013
PN XVI
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(CERD) / 83rd session
From : 12-08-2013 To : 30-08-2013
PW G
Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council / 11th
session
From : 12-08-2013 To : 16-08-2013
PN XX
WG on communications / 13th session
From : 19-08-2013 To : 23-08-2013
PW 1st
Human Rights Council – Organizational meeting / 24th
session
From : 26-08-2013 To : 26-08-2013
PN XX
WG on Arbitrary Detention / 67th session
From : 26-08-2013 To : 30-08-2013
PN XXIII
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) / 10th session
From : 02-09-2013 To : 13-09-2013
PW G
Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) / 6th session
From : 04-09-2013 To : 06-09-2013
NY
From : 09-09-2013 To : 13-09-2013
PW 1st
Human Rights Council / 24th session
From : 09-09-2013 To : 27-09-2013
PN XX
Committee on the Rights of Child (CRC) / 64th session
From : 16-09-2013 To : 04-10-2013
PW G
CEDAW - WG Communications / 26th session
From : 23-09-2013 To : 27-09-2013
PN XVI
HRC/WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and
Practice / 8th session
From : 30-09-2013 To : 04-10-2013
PW 1st
From : 30-09-2013 To : 18-10-2013
PN XVI
BoT, UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture / 38th
session
From : 30-09-2013 To : 04-10-2013
PW 1st
Meeting of States Parties to the Convention Against
Torture (CAT) / 14th session
From : 01-10-2013 To : 01-10-2013
PN XX
Pre-sessional WG - CRC 65th session / 65th session
From : 07-10-2013 To : 11-10-2013
PW G
HR Committtee Pre-sess. WG on Communications. 109th /
109th session
From : 07-10-2013 To : 11-10-2013
PW 1st
From : 07-10-2013 To : 18-10-2013
PN XXI
Human Rights Committee / 109th session
From : 14-10-2013 To : 01-11-2013
PW G
CEDAW Pre sessional WG for the 58th Session / 58th
session
From : 21-10-2013 To : 25-10-2013
PN XVI
UPR Working Group / 17th session
From : 21-10-2013 To : 01-11-2013
PN XX
BoT, Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the
Field of Human Rights / 39th session
From : 28-10-2013 To : 31-10-2013
PN XXIII
Committee against Torture (CAT) / 51st session
From : 28-10-2013 To : 22-11-2013
PW 1st
WG on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) /
101st session
From : 30-10-2013 To : 08-11-2013
PN XI
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
/ 51st session
From : 04-11-2013 To : 29-11-2013
PW G
Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) / 5th session
From : 04-11-2013 To : 15-11-2013
PN XII
Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) / 21st
session
From : 11-11-2013 To : 15-11-2013
PN XXI
WG on Arbitrary Detention / 68th session
From : 13-11-2013 To : 22-11-2013
PN XI
Working Group on the People of African Descent / 13th
session
From : 18-11-2013 To : 22-11-2013
PN XVII
BoT, UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of
Slavery / 18th session
From : 18-11-2013 To : 22-11-2013
PN IX
From : 25-11-2013 To : 29-11-2013
PW 1st
Forum on Minorities Issues / 6th session
From : 26-11-2013 To : 27-11-2013
PN XX
WG on the use of mercenaries / 20th session
From : 02-12-2013 To : 06-12-2013
PW 1st
Pre-sessional WG - CESCR 52nd session / 52nd session
From : 02-12-2013 To : 06-12-2013
PWG
Forum of Business and Human Rights / 2nd session
From : 03-12-2013 To : 04-12-2013
PN XX
Human Rights Council - Organizational Session
From : 09-12-2013 To : 09-12-2013
PN XX
From : 11-12-2013 To : 13-12-2013
PN XXI
From : 12-12-2013 To : 12-12-2013
NY
13 of many
Toward
a New Vision for Human Rights
Nadia Ben-Youssef, Center
for Constitutional Rights via uark.onmicrosoft.com December 10, 2025
Dec 10, 2025, 4:23 PM (16 hours ago)
to James
Dear Dick,
Today, December
10, is Human Rights Day, marking the anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. We are experiencing a world where commitments to protect
and promote human rights have reached alarming new lows. While we have long
fought against the degradation of rights by insisting on accountability of
state and private actors for harm and centering the demands of those most
impacted by systems of oppression in the U.S. and around the world, we mark
this moment while in a profound human rights crisis.
This Human Rights Day invites a reckoning: How did a global system built in the name
of “universal rights” become structurally incapable of constraining state
violence? The failures of the UN’s human rights and security architecture,
combined with deliberate efforts to weaken what limited protections existed,
have brought us to a moment when the thinnest pretexts are sufficient to
justify the killings of civilians, the deportation and torture of migrants, the
imprisonment and silencing of dissenters, and the erosion of freedoms for us
all.
And still we fight.
Cora and Peter Weiss with Deputy Legal Director Maria
LaHood and
Senior Staff Attorneys Katherine Gallagher and Pam Spees.
On this Human
Rights Day, we honor those struggling for liberation by continuing the work of
building a human rights framework worthy of that name: one capable of
confronting empire, resisting genocide, and protecting all people without
exception. We are guided in our work by the late, visionary
Peter Weiss and his partner in life and work, Cora Weiss, who
passed away just two days ago on what would have been Peter’s 100th birthday.
Cora, a lifelong peace activist and human rights champion, believed deeply in
the power of people to work together to bring forth a better world. As Peter
argued, we must reorient our approach: not conforming our pursuit of justice to
existing law, but reshaping law to serve universal justice, through universal
jurisdiction, people-centered accountability, and movements that refuse to
allow states to define the limits of our rights.
To a world where human
dignity is our foundation and horizon,
Nadia Ben-Youssef
Advocacy Director
The Center for Constitutional Rights stands with social
justice movements and communities under threat—fusing litigation, advocacy, and
narrative shifting to dismantle systems of oppression regardless of the risk.
Thank you for joining
us in the fight for justice.
CCR
666 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10012
Quick links
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Declaration of Human Rights in 403 translations
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Recent publications
·
Former Irish president Mary Robinson
discusses her new memoir 'Everybody Matters'
Mary Robinson, author of 'Everybody Matters,' talked with me
about everything from her meeting with the queen of
·
Mary Robinson became
Lee Jin-man/AP
Share on stumbleuponShare on email
In 1990, Mary Robinson became
As a progressive liberal,
Robinson seemed a very unlikely candidate for the job in what was then a deeply
conservative country.
Throughout the '70s and '80s, she worked as a human
rights lawyer as well as a senator, arguing a number of landmark cases that
challenged various clauses within the Irish constitution which failed to
protect minorities. Robinson fought on behalf of women, who were effectively
treated as second-class citizens; homosexuals, who were criminalized for their
sexual orientation; and campaigned to change the law on the sale of
contraceptives, which were illegal in Ireland without prescription until 1985.
When she became president, Robinson was determined to
reinvigorate the role. In 1993, she was the first Irish President to travel to
Robinson then returned to
From 1997 to 2002, Robinson served as UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights. The
role proved to have huge political difficulties, particularly in the post-9/11
world. Robinson openly criticized the Bush Administration, much to the chagrin
of then Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan. In 2009, Robinson
was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.
In recent years, Robinson has returned to
Robinson’s
memoir Everybody Matters recalls a long and dedicated career as a
public servant, both at national and international level.
Recently she spoke with me about the difficulties the role of UN
High Commissioner presented, how Eleanor Roosevelt provided a life-changing
moment, and why she has always been persuaded by those who fight for equality
and justice through non-violent methods.
Was it your awareness of middle
class privilege from an early age that inspired you to peruse a career that
fought for justice in society?
Well, I came from a family that was privileged but not rich. My
mother was a very warm, engaging, and open person, but she was also quite
snobbish. She thought our family were great because we had a background of a
colonial past, and plaques on the wall in the Protestant church in the town of
You talk about reading Eleanor
Roosevelt at any early age. What did you see in her worldview that inspired
you?
I always loved people who were inspirational. Figures like
Mahatma Gandhi, Michael Davitt, Daniel O’Connell, and Martin Luther King. In 1958, Eleanor Roosevelt made a famous speech on the tenth
anniversary of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and she said:
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to
home.” When I read this, I had a lightbulb moment and thought, I really want to
be involved in this.
·
GOOGLE SEARCH, Ann Fagan
Ginger, The U.N.
Declaration of Human Rights Is the Law: A Guide to U.D.H.R. Articles in
Treaties Ratified by the
1.
Ann Fagan Ginger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Fagan_Ginger
Ann Fagan Ginger (born July 11, 1925) is an American lawyer, teacher, writer, and ...[2008]; The U.N. Declaration of Human Rights Is the Law: A Guide
to ...
2.
[PDF]
2009_HRN-3_Sep-1 - Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
mcli.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2009_HRN-3_Sep.pdf
co-chair an evening with Ann Fagan Ginger of. MCLI discussing The Universal Declaration of. Human Rights Is the Law. She will
describe how concerned ...
3.
[PDF]
2009_HRN-4_Dec-1 - Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
mcli.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2009_HRN-4_Dec.pdf
and failing to do, to
enforce three U.N. human rights treaties the ... law with Ann Ginger) and went on ... her – the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ...
4.
[PDF]
2008_HRN-4_Dec-1 - Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
mcli.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2008_HRN-4_Dec.pdf
by B Steensland - Cited by 71 -
Related articles
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights are the law in the .... (from p. 1). Liz Troutman and Ann Fagan Ginger making presentations at the MCLI CLE at the.
5.
[PDF]
Enforcing the Hidden U.S. Equal Rights Law - Digital Commons
digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1471...
by AF Ginger - 2010 - Related articles
Sep 13, 2010 - Ann Fagan Ginger, Enforcing the Hidden
6.
The Declaration is The Law - Berkeley Daily Planet
www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/.../31738?...Declaration...Law...Ann...Gin...
Dec 4, 2008 - By Ann Fagan Ginger ... 10, “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Is the
Law” will be issued by Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute.
7.
“Undoing the Bush-Cheney Legacy” with lawyer Anne Fagan Ginger
www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/09/18560368.php
Jan 9, 2009 - Find out how to undo the Bush-Cheney legacy
and how to use theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights as law. This book party for
“Undoing ...
8.
Ann Fagan Ginger | New Paths to Stop Human
Rights Violations in US
www.truth-out.org/.../ann-fagan-ginger-new-paths-stop-human-rights-vi...
Feb 22, 2006 - You know the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that ...It is not enforceable in a
court of law (except for those principles also ...
9.
Human
Rights and Peace Law Docket
sunsite.berkeley.edu/meiklejohn/meik-peacelaw/meik-peacelaw-5.html
Ann Fagan Ginger • Editor ... Human rights law encompasses economic, social and cultural
rights of each person and group in society, ... 55 and 56, with many specifics in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in
the two International ...
10. [PDF]
Ann Fagan Ginger - Seattle University School of Law
www.law.seattleu.edu/Documents/globaljustice/Ginger%20Resume.pdf
Colleges: courses in
Global Peaces Studies, International Human Rights, Peace ... TheUniversal
Declaration of Human Rights Is The Law: a Guide to UDHR ...
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