At the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s 61st session, Secretary‑General António Guterres and other senior officials warned that human rights are under assault by powerful states and technological tools that deepen exclusion (UN Human Rights Council opening remarks, Feb 23, 2026). President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock warned that “silence has consequences” and urged states to act, not acquiesce, a rebuke to appeasement and incremental erosions of rights protections.

The speeches foregrounded pressing cases, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Gaza, Myanmar, and Belarus,and highlighted worrying trends: forced family separations, attacks on women’s rights and the weaponisation of AI against minorities. The Council’s challenge is not merely rhetorical. It must convert denunciations into practical mechanisms for accountability, protection, and support for civil society, while resisting political capture that would hollow the multilateral system upon which rights enforcement depends.

 Sources: UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, Annalena Baerbock, Volker Türk, Feb 23, 2026.