UN Rights Chief Seeks $500 Million in 2025

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk talks to the press in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday Jan. 15, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk talks to the press in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday Jan. 15, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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UN Rights Chief Seeks $500 Million in 2025

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk talks to the press in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday Jan. 15, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk talks to the press in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday Jan. 15, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

The UN human rights chief appealed on Thursday for $500 million in funding for 2025 to support its work such as investigating human rights abuses around the world from Syria to Sudan, warning that lives hang in the balance.

The UN human rights office has been grappling with chronic funding shortages that some worry could be exacerbated by cuts to US foreign aid by President Donald Trump. The annual appeal is for funds beyond the allocated UN funds from member states' fees, which make up just a fraction of the office's needs.

"In 2025, we expect no let-up in major challenges to human rights," High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told member states in a speech at the UN in Geneva.

"I am very concerned that if we do not reach our funding targets in 2025, we will leave people ... to struggle and possibly fail, without adequate support," Reuters quoted him as saying.

He said any shortfall would mean more people remain in illegal detention; that governments are allowed to continue with discriminatory policies; violations may go undocumented; and human rights defenders could lose protection.

"In short, lives are at stake," he said.

The human rights office gets about 5% of the regular UN budget, but the majority of its funding comes voluntarily in response to its annual appeal announced on Thursday.

Western states give the most, with the United States donating $35 million last year or about 15% of the total received in 2024, followed by the European Commission, UN data showed. Still, the office received only about half of the $500 million it sought last year.



Russia's Lavrov to Discuss Turkish Role in Ending Ukraine War in Visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 18, 2025. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 18, 2025. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
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Russia's Lavrov to Discuss Turkish Role in Ending Ukraine War in Visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 18, 2025. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 18, 2025. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Türkiye on Monday to discuss his country's recent talks with US officials on ending the war in Ukraine, and how Ankara can contribute to the process, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Sunday.

NATO-member Türkiye, which hosted initial negotiations between Russia and Ukraine months after the war began in 2022, "is ready to assume this role in the upcoming period", the source said, requesting anonymity, Reuters reported.

Lavrov's visit coincides with the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The source added that Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan would also discuss the ceasefire in Gaza and the situation in Syria, where Türkiye will emphasize the need for Syrian territorial unity and the expulsion of terrorists.

US and Russian negotiators met in Riyadh last week to discuss ending the conflict in Ukraine, without Kyiv's participation. On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

The Turkish source said the sides on Monday would discuss steps toward "a just and lasting peace through diplomatic efforts, recent contacts between the US and Russia and the contributions that Türkiye can make to the process".