The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
The UN rights chief warned on Monday that the world needed to change paths to avoid a future filled with military escalation, repression, disinformation, deepening inequality and rampant climate change.
Opening a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Turk stressed that "we are at a fork in the road".
"We can either continue on our current path — a treacherous 'new normal' — and sleepwalk into a dystopian future, or we can wake up and turn things around for the better, for humanity and the planet," he said.
In a world wracked by conflicts, including Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, Russia's war in Ukraine and the civil war raging in Sudan, Turk insisted that "states must not — cannot — accept blatant disregard for international law".
Currently, he warned, the world appears comfortable with the "crossing of innumerable red lines, or readiness to toe right up to them".
Turk said that during a record year for elections globally, such votes matter.
"With some elections already having taken place, and others still to come this year, I urge all voters to keep in mind the issues that matter most to them — be it a home, education for their children, their health or job, justice, their family and loved ones, the environment, to be free from violence, tackling corruption, being heard," he said.
"These are all human rights issues," he said.
"I urge voters to ask themselves which of the political platforms or candidates will work for the human rights of everyone."
The world's new normal, he said, "cannot be endless, vicious military escalation and increasingly horrifying, technologically advanced methods of warfare, control, and repression".
He warned against a "free-for-all spread of disinformation, smothering facts and the ability to make free and informed choices".
Turk also slammed "heated rhetoric and simplistic fixes, erasing context, nuance, and empathy. Paving the way for hate speech and the dire consequences that inevitably follow".
"I urge all voters to be vigilant. Be wary of the shrill voices, the 'strongman' types that throw glitter in our eyes, offering illusory solutions that deny reality," he said.
"Know that when one group is singled out as a scapegoat for society's ills, one day your own might be next."
The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
This time around, Trump wants the Senate to give up that gatekeeping role and allow him to make 'recess appointments'
world3 days ago
Police allege the offences took place between 2001 and 2019 against 8 victims; the youngest was 17 at the time of the offence
world3 days ago
The two countries have a mutual defence treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea
world3 days ago
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger on Narendra Modi in Abuja on Sunday
world4 days ago
The titleholder's winning answer focused on using each individual's strengths
world4 days ago
The suspects would be interrogated jointly with the Shin Bet internal security agency, police said
world4 days ago
The attack took place at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Jiangsu province
world5 days ago