Appealing Human rights!
Incident Summary
In January 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Office launched its 2025 Annual Appeal, requesting $500 million to address escalating global crises that threaten decades of progress in human rights. The appeal emphasizes the need for stronger protections amid rising authoritarianism, armed conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, and the misuse of technology to suppress dissent. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk declared, “The solutions to today’s endless wars, to the climate crisis, to our troubled relationship with technology, lie in more respect for human rights, not less”.
Why This Matters
This appeal is more than a funding request, it’s a moral reckoning. As wars rage and digital surveillance increases, the foundational principles of human dignity, equality, and justice are under threat. The UN’s call reminds us that human rights are not abstract ideals; they are lifelines for people in crisis. Supporting this initiative means investing in legal protections, humanitarian aid, and the infrastructure that upholds freedom and accountability.
Putting It in Perspective
The 2025 appeal comes at a time when many governments are retreating from their human rights commitments. Reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch highlight a troubling trend: powerful states undermining international norms, and aid workers facing unprecedented threats. Yet, the UN’s stance signals resilience. It aligns with a broader movement to reassert the universality of human rights, echoing the spirit of Canada’s recent supply chain legislation and the EU’s renewed priorities in global human rights fora.
This moment calls for action, by states, civil society, and individuals, to defend the rights of the most vulnerable and to ensure that justice, not power, shapes our global future.
- United Nations Human Rights Office. (2025, January 10). UN Human Rights 2025 Appeal: An investment in everyone, everywhere. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2025/01/un-human-rights-2025-appeal-investment-everyone-everywhere
- Amnesty International. (2025). The state of the world’s human rights 2025. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/8515/2025/en/
- Human Rights Watch. (2025). World Report 2025. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025
- Council of the European Union. (2025, January 27). United Nations human rights fora: Council approves EU priorities for 2025. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/01/27/united-nations-human-rights-fora-council-approves-eu-priorities-for-2025/
I don’t know if the appeal will really change the serious circumstances. If money alone could solve the issue, every country would have already done it. However, it also makes me realize that protecting human rights is not just a political issue, but something essential for solving conflicts and creating a safer future.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Seira in thinking that the appeal is probably going to do little to change the current global crisis in human rights. The US used to be the beacon for calling out human rights violations around the world (even though their human rights record has never been that great) but now the US just turns a blind eye to genocide in Gaza, murder by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, and it actively commits human rights violations by doing such things as extrajudicial killings of people in boats who they say are smuggling drugs, but provide no evidence that those murdered are actually "narco-terrorists."
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