The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned on Monday that the world is inching towards a dystopian future characterised by military escalations, oppression and misinformation.
“We can either continue on our current path — a treacherous ‘new normal’ — and sleepwalk into a dystopian future. Or we can wake up and turn things around for the better, for humanity and the planet,” Mr. Türk cautioned at the opening of the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
He highlighted the UN's concern about an ongoing trend of "vicious military escalation and increasingly horrifying, technologically advanced methods of warfare, control and repression."
Indifference towards inequality, misinformation, injustice
The UN High Commissioner also criticised the persistent indifference towards widening inequality between and within nations.
The spread of misinformation which, he warned, suffocates facts and inhibits free and informed decision-making, was another issue he highlighted. “Heated rhetoric and simplistic fixes, erasing context, nuance, and empathy" pave the way for hate speech and the dire consequences that inevitably follow, he added.
Injustices, the impact of climate change on those least responsible for it, human rights abuses committed in the name of national sovereignty, and the assault on international norms and organisations were all a part of Mr Türk’s bleak global synopsis.
He, pointed out, however, that a different choice can be made, one based on human rights and shared universal values.
Reject the 'new normal' and a dystopian future, Türk urges
“Collectively, we should make the choice of rejecting the ‘new normal’ and the dystopian future it would present,” he urged, appealing to the world's citizens to keep these issues in mind and to exercise vigilance when electing leaders.
Further, he encouraged voters in upcoming elections worldwide to remember key concerns, be it housing, children’s education, health or employment.
Mr. Türk cautioned against being swayed by shrill voices and strongmen offering illusory solutions that deny reality.
“Know that when one group is singled out as a scapegoat for society’s ills, one day your own might be next” he concluded.
