United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres told the opening of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 23 February 2026 that human rights worldwide face a “full‑scale attack”, a diagnosis echoed by the UN human rights chief and others (UN Human Rights Council opening remarks, 23/02/2026). He warned that the “rule of force” is outmuscling the rule of law, whether in wars such as Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, or in the erosion of democratic norms elsewhere.

Guterres and UN High Commissioner Volker Türk identified interconnected drivers: intensified great‑power competition for influence and resources, technological tools that enable repression and discrimination, shrinking civic space, and the weaponisation of misinformation (UN statements, 23/02/2026). The institutional dilemma is acute. The Human Rights Council will debate dozens of crisis situations over the coming weeks, but accountability mechanisms struggle in an era of selective compliance and diminished donor commitment (UN Human Rights Council session agenda, Feb–Mar 2026).

The human rights response must be strategic. Multilateral institutions should prioritise durable fact‑finding mandates, protect civil society participation, and press for targeted measures that increase the political costs of repression. Without such an approach, the slide from international norms to ad hoc force will harden into a new international normal.

Sources: António Guterres remarks, 23 February 2026; Volker Türk comments, UN Human Rights Council, Feb 2026; UN session programme, 16/02/2026.