UN rights chief urges world to 'regain mindset of peace'

GENEVA

The world needs to "regain a mindset of peace," the UN human rights chief urged Monday amid 55 conflicts flaring up around the globe.

"Rarely has humanity faced so many rapidly spiraling crises," Turk said during his global update at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

"A wave of conflict is battering people's lives, destroying economies, profoundly damaging human rights, dividing the world, and upending hopes for multilateral solutions," he said.

Noting that there are 55 ongoing conflicts around the world, he lamented that widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law are generating a "devastating impact" on millions of civilians.

They caused displacement and humanitarian crises to already reach an "unprecedented scale," he said, adding that all of those conflicts have regional and global impact.

"Overlapping emergencies make the specter of spillover conflict very real. The war in Gaza has explosive impact across the Middle East. Conflicts in other regions – including in the Horn of Africa, Sudan, and the Sahel – could also escalate sharply. Increasing militarization on the Korean Peninsula raises threat levels," the human rights chief said. "The deteriorating security crisis in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which the Council will address on April 3, is alarming."

"In the Red Sea, as well as the Black Sea, attacks are creating shock-waves for the global transport of goods, adding to the economic pain inflicted on less developed countries," Turk continued.

Emphasizing the right to peace is the "mother of all human rights," he stressed, saying that without peace, all other rights are "quashed."

"It is urgent that we devise ways to counter warmongering, fear, and the illogic of escalating hatred and hostility – which bring short-term profit to a few while ruining the lives and rights of millions," he said. "We need to regain a mindset of peace."

"This means the art of de-escalation, keeping communication channels open, rebuilding trust, and the long-term work of healing and reconciliation – re-establishing a sense of the interconnectedness and shared destiny of all humanity," he added.