The General Assembly hall witnessed, on Friday, a heated debate among member states regarding the re-election of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, for a second term, based on a proposal by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres.
Following tense deliberations, the General Assembly voted in favor of a draft resolution approving the appointment of the current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for another four-year term.
The General Assembly established the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1994. On 8 September 2022, the Assembly approved the appointment of Volker Türk (Austria) for a four-year term, beginning on 12 October 2022 and ending on 11 October 2026. Earlier this month, the Secretary-General proposed reappointing Türk for a further four-year term, beginning on 12 October 2026 and ending on 11 October 2030.
The responsibility for approving the renewal rests with the General Assembly, but the meeting dedicated to this matter was marked by considerable controversy. It began with a US proposal to postpone consideration of the renewal, with the US representative stating that the opportunity for a “careful and serious examination of this high and important post” was “very limited.” This request was opposed by the Irish representative, speaking on behalf of the European Union, and was rejected in a recorded vote of 63 against, 27 in favor, and 47 abstentions.
The Assembly then moved on to discuss a proposal submitted by the Russian Federation to extend Mr. Türk's term only until the end of 2026. The Russian delegate pointed out that this text, if adopted, would “synchronize” the High Commissioner's term with that of the current Secretary-General. He added that “renewing Mr. Türk's term for a full four years would deprive the next Secretary-General of the opportunity to implement his vision for years to come.”
Some delegations, speaking before the Assembly voted on the proposal, agreed that Turk should not be reappointed for another four-year term, although the reasons for this differed.
Israel and the United States object
The representative of Israel opposed the renewal of the appointment, stating that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had “adopted an unprofessional and politically motivated approach” under Turk’s leadership. Similarly, the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea expressed concern about “the growing tendency to exploit human rights issues for political purposes.”
In also opposing Turk's reappointment for a four-year term, the US representative stressed that this represented "a classic example of cronyism within the United Nations," where "a Secretary-General on the verge of leaving office strikes a backroom deal to give his old friend a four-year executive post." He warned that "there will be consequences" if the General Assembly "tolerates" "bypassing procedures, backroom deals, and the abuse of UN positions."
Conversely, there were differing viewpoints. The Irish representative, speaking on behalf of the European Union, pointed out that the 81 days the Russian proposal would have added to Turk's term were "extremely short, almost negligible." He emphasized that such a short period "clearly contradicts the nature, scope, and importance of the High Commissioner's role." He further noted that the General Assembly resolution establishing the post stipulated a fixed four-year term, stressing that it was "four years, not 81 days."
The representatives of Uruguay and Mexico agreed on this point, with the Mexican representative adding that Türk had done “strong and constructive work at the head of the Commission.” Both delegates expressed their support for the Secretary-General’s proposal to renew Türk’s mandate for four years, as did the representative of France, who affirmed that Türk had been “a voice of conscience, confronting states with reality and their responsibilities” throughout his tenure.
The Assembly then rejected the Russian Federation’s proposal to renew the mandate for a shorter period, in a recorded vote that resulted in 71 countries opposing and 19 supporting, with 52 countries abstaining.
Since that proposal was not adopted, the Assembly considered the Secretary-General’s original proposal, at which point the representative of the Russian Federation requested the floor to point out that today’s discussion “has become confusing for the international community.”
However, the Assembly agreed to renew the appointment of Turk as High Commissioner for Human Rights for a four-year term, beginning on 12 October 2026 and ending on 11 October 2030, in a recorded vote supported by 144 countries and opposed by 10 countries: Argentina, Burkina Faso, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Israel, Mali, Nicaragua, Niger, the Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States, with 13 countries abstaining.
Following the vote, representatives from Ecuador, Iran, and Paraguay expressed regret that the decision could not be postponed, given the lack of sufficient time for delegations to review the Secretary-General's proposal and reach a consensus. The representative of Peru stated that his delegation abstained from voting because such a move could limit the "room for maneuver" available to the incoming Secretary-General.
The representative of the Russian Federation stressed, “Instead of putting forward a unifying agenda, the Secretary-General brought yet another cause for division to the General Assembly.” He expressed regret that his delegation’s proposal to “maintain the status quo until the end of the year” was not adopted.
The US ambassador withdraws in protest against the French position.
US Ambassador Michael Waltz expressed his displeasure with French comments on Monday and walked out of the Security Council session on Ukraine when the French ambassador began to deliver his statement.
When the French ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, began to deliver his statement, Waltz walked out in protest against French comments that compared the United States to North Korea and other authoritarian states in the context of the vote to renew the mandate of the Human Rights Commissioner.
This withdrawal came after the United States, along with 10 other countries, voted in the UN General Assembly against renewing the mandate of Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for another four years. The French mission to the UN in Geneva stated that the United States “is no longer a beacon of human rights” and has become “isolated” alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali, and Russia.
US Ambassador Michael Waltz responded that France had supported a human rights chief who “was critical of free and sovereign democracies such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel,” while dealing with countries with poor human rights records.
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