UN appoints Austria’s Volker Türk as new human rights chief

The UNGeneral Assembly approved a seasoned Austrian diplomat on Thursday to serve as the organization's human rights chief and its spokesperson for upholding universal rights at a time when the office is facing harsh criticism from China for charging Beijing with mistreating Muslim minorities.

Volker Türk was proposed as the top policy advisor by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, and the 193-member assembly swiftly confirmed the appointment by consensus with a bang of the gavel from its acting president, which was followed by a round of applause.

Türk will take over from Michelle Bachelet of Chile as the Geneva-based high commissioner for human rights.

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With the last-minute publication of her harshly critical report on China's incarceration of Uyghurs and other primarily Muslim ethnic groups in the western province of Xinjiang, which she claimed may constitute crimes against humanity, Bachelet's four-year mandate came to an end on August 31. The UNrights agency was criticised by China for allegedly fabricating the report and allowing Western countries to take advantage of it.

Additionally, Tuerk should anticipate pressure from advocates for human rights.

Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnes Callamard, said he is being appointed “at a time of considerable threats to human rights around the world.”

“Immediately, he has to help shape an effective human rights response and accountability for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, China’s persecution of millions of Uyghurs, and far too many forgotten crises,” she said in a statement, pointing to Yemen, Congo and Myanmar as examples. “His agenda should also include strengthening the human rights response to climate change and rising inequality.”

Before holding important posts at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, Türk, who has a doctorate in international law from the University of Vienna, worked for the UNhigh commissioner for refugees all over the world, including in Malaysia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Congo, and Kuwait. He served as the assistant high commissioner for protection from 2015 to 2019, where he concentrated on creating the Global Compact on Refugees.

Türk worked in Guterres' office as the assistant secretary-general for strategic coordination from 2019 to January 2022. He was then given the position of undersecretary-general for policy in the executive office by the UNhead.

This year, Türk has been focusing on the follow-up to Guterres’ September 2021 report called “Our Common Agenda” outlining his vision for the “breakthrough scenario” to a greener and safer world. He was also tasked with conducting UNsystem-wide coordination including on the secretary-general’s “Call to Action for Human Rights.”

Tirana Hassan, interim executive director of Human Rights Watch, responded to the nomination saying: “The new high commissioner will have his work cut out combating a difficult human rights environment across the globe.”

“Whether it’s confronting crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, war crimes in Ukraine and Ethiopia, or racism in the United States, the rights chief’s most effective tools are robust investigations and a strong voice,” she said, adding that a top priority must be to immediately follow up on Bachelet’s report on the Uyghurs.

“What’s needed by the millions of people around the world whose rights are being violated every day is an advocate in their corner who will take on abusive governments large and small without fear and without hesitation,” Hassan said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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