The United Nations warned on Nov. 24 that human rights work globally is fighting for its survival, as funding woes and rollbacks of accountability laws limit the ability to address widespread abuses.
U.N. rights chief Volker Türk said his office, which is among a slew of international organizations hit by a global funding crisis, was "on its knees."
"The entire human rights ecosystem is in survival mode," he told a meeting of the U.N.'s business and human rights forum in Geneva.
The U.N. as a whole is mulling reforms, including a 15 percent cut across its 2026 budget, to tackle chronic liquidity problems exacerbated by U.S. President Donald Trump's policies.
The United States — the U.N.'s biggest contributor — paused funding after Trump returned to power in January.
Funding for the U.N.'s human rights work has long been chronically underfunded, and the cuts now being discussed could take a particularly heavy toll on the U.N. rights office.
The agency has received just 73 percent of member states' promised regular budget contributions for 2025, leaving $67 million unpaid, after already seeing tens of millions of dollars in U.S. voluntary funds evaporate this year.
Türk said on Nov. 24 that he welcomed "creative, innovative ideas on how to increase support for us."
"For example, payroll-giving initiatives are one practical tool for companies to help sustain the institutions that protect us all," he said.
Beyond financial support, he said his office was working to create a "global alliance for human rights."
This, he said, should be "a cross-regional coalition of states, businesses, civil society, philanthropists, and others (aimed to) put human rights at the heart of public and political life."
Türk insisted on the need to shore up rights protections in a world facing towering challenges.
He highlighted in particular violations linked to the private sector.
He slammed "unacceptable" attacks against "courageous human rights defenders shining a light on business-related abuses."
He decried that "states in some regions are watering down laws requiring corporate respect for human rights," warning this "could have ripple effects around the world."
Türk drew attention to the pushback against so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies around the world.
Such policies, which have come under particularly harsh attack in the United States under Trump, "were adopted to address historic and structural discrimination," he said.
"This is a troubling development; we cannot return to systems that run contrary to equality and justice."
