The United Nations Human Rights Council officially opened its 62nd regular session at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Monday 15 June 2026. Running until 7 July 2026, the session will address urgent global human rights issues through plenary discussions, interactive dialogues with mandate holders, and thematic panel discussions.
Opening the session, H.E. Mr. Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, President of the Council, welcomed High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the Deputy High Commissioner Awa Dabo, attending her first HRC session, as well as delegates from eight least developed countries and small island developing states attending thanks to voluntary technical assistance funding. On procedural matters, the president confirmed the approval of the programme of work, noted an adjusted schedule for 19 June to accommodate a high-level discussion marking the HRC’s 20th anniversary, and stated that the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar will proceed without the country’s participation, as Myanmar has remained unrepresented at the Council since 2021. The President expressed deep concern at personal attacks and unilateral sanctions directed against mandate holders, calling such practices incompatible with the spirit of cooperation and dialogue, and committed to following up on all reported cases of reprisal or intimidation against those who have cooperated with the Council.
In his presentation of the annual report, High Commissioner Volker Türk offered a sweeping assessment of the global human rights situation, framing progress as non-linear but ultimately positive in its long-term trajectory, while warning of an “unprecedented, shameless onslaught against international law causing appalling human suffering”. His remarks consistently affirmed that human rights must be central to today’s most pressing issues, from the climate crisis and artificial intelligence to armed conflict and migration, and he urged “G7 leaders meeting across the lake to place human rights at the core of their discussions”.
On the Middle East, Türk welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire and framework for peace negotiations while condemning violations on all sides. He deplored the use of force by Israel and the United States against Iran, which reportedly killed thousands of civilians, and equally condemned Iran’s attacks on civilian infrastructure in Gulf countries and Jordan and its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as “completely unacceptable,” with dire consequences for the global economy and humanitarian aid delivery. On Iran’s domestic situation, Türk expressed deep concern at the crushing of protests, mass arrests, and at least 40 executions on national security grounds. On Gaza, he described as “totally illegal” the nearly 1,000 Palestinian deaths since the October ceasefire, ongoing aid restrictions, and public calls by Israeli officials to remove all Palestinians from the territory, stating: “we are out of red flags.” On Lebanon, he expressed alarm at Israeli strikes killing 3,600 people and displacing over one million, condemned Hezbollah attacks into Israel, and welcomed the 14 June ceasefire.
Türk also flagged sharp escalations in Sudan, where sexual violence remains widespread and over 1,000 civilians were killed by drone strikes between January and May 2026. In Ukraine, he noted that civilian casualties during the first five months of 2026 exceeded those of any equivalent period since the war began. He further expressed alarm at the global proliferation of drone warfare and called urgently on states to agree to a legal framework requiring human control over lethal autonomous weapons, warning they “cannot become a licence for atrocity crimes”.
On Africa, Türk stressed mass civilian casualties in Mali, the dissolution of over 930 civil society organisations in Burkina Faso, and growing violence in Niger, alongside serious concerns in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia and Haiti. He described Cuba as a “human rights emergency” suffocating under US sanctions. On funding, he warned that global humanitarian needs for 2026 equal just three days of military spending, and condemned US airstrikes reportedly killing over 200 people on civilian ships in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Türk raised alarm that 950 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists were killed or disappeared in 2025, double the figure of a decade ago, and flagged repression across Uganda, Belarus, Iran, Russia, Serbia and India. He condemned Afghanistan’s effective legalisation of child marriage as “despicable,” deplored persecution of LGBTQ+ communities in Russia, and condemned harsh criminal sanctions against LGBTQ+ people in Ghana and Niger. He also condemned the dehumanisation of migrants across the UK, US and EU, and flagged the involuntary return of Afghan asylum seekers from Iran and Pakistan as a breach of international refugee law.
On a positive note, Türk highlighted anti-discrimination reforms in Mongolia, a landmark indigenous land rights ruling in Australia, an LGBT+ rights ruling by Chile’s Supreme Court, and the contribution of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria to over 63 criminal investigations into war crimes since 2011. He closed by announcing the launch of a new Global Alliance for Human Rights, describing human rights as “the glue that binds us together” and affirming that “when we join forces to strengthen those bonds, we do build a better world for all.”
