Austria's Volker Turk set to become next UN human rights chief | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 10, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025
Austria's Volker Turk set to become next UN human rights chief

World+Biz

Hindustan Times
09 September, 2022, 02:40 pm
Last modified: 09 September, 2022, 02:45 pm

Related News

  • ‘Our main problem is disinformation, fake news,’ CA Yunus tells UN
  • Indo-Pak military escalation: Time for UN to act and let Kashmiris decide their fate
  • Israel shuts 6 UN schools for Palestinians
  • Accountability key to resolving Rohingya crisis: Dhaka
  • Bangladesh, UNOPS sign project document to train female peacekeepers

Austria's Volker Turk set to become next UN human rights chief

Hindustan Times
09 September, 2022, 02:40 pm
Last modified: 09 September, 2022, 02:45 pm
Volker Turk. Photo: Hindustan Times
Volker Turk. Photo: Hindustan Times

The United Nations on Thursday approved Austrian diplomat Volker Turk to be its new high commissioner for human rights, replacing former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet in the sensitive, high-profile post.

The 57-year-old envoy has spent most of his career within the UN system, with a particular focus on refugees, and worked closely with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when the latter headed the global body's refugee agency.

Turk, currently serving as assistant secretary general for policy, was tapped by Guterres on Wednesday and approved by the UN General Assembly by consensus on Thursday, to applause.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"Mr. Turk has devoted his long and distinguished career to advancing universal human rights, notably the international protection of some of the world's most vulnerable people -- refugees and stateless persons," Guterres said in a statement.

"In my thirty-year long #UNHCR work with refugees, I have seen time and again the consequences of hate speech and its dehumanizing effect on people," Turk wrote in July on Twitter. "Say #NoToHate is the only powerful answer."

The UN veteran replaces Bachelet, who was appointed four years ago with the specific intent of having a powerful female politician in the role.

Guterres's choice of a figure unknown to the wider public stands in contrast to his appointment of the high-profile Bachelet, who ended her tenure last week.

Turk will have his work cut out: Bachelet published a long-awaited report on rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region just minutes before the end of her term, leaving the tricky follow-up job to her successor.

The report urged Beijing to end "discriminatory" practices against Xinjiang's Uyghur community and other Muslim-majority populations.

Detailing a string of rights violations including torture, forced labor and arbitrary detention, it brought the UN seal to many of the allegations long made by activist groups, Western nations and the Uyghur community in exile.

It said China may have carried out "crimes against humanity" but stopped short of calling Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs "genocide" -- a term used since January 2021 by the United States and now embraced by parliaments in multiple Western nations.

China has vehemently rejected such charges and criticized Bachelet's report, accusing the UN of becoming a "thug and accomplice of the US and the West."

Stakes 'never been higher'

Prior to releasing the bombshell report, Bachelet had come under serious criticism over her approach to the situation in Xinjiang.

Rights groups have warned that her successor must show courage to call out abuses, regardless of the perpetrator.

"His voice in defense of the victims of human rights violations around the world will need to be loud and clear," the head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, said in a statement reacting to Turk's expected approval.

"They count on him to stand up to human rights abusers even when they are powerful states."

Tirana Hassan, interim executive director of Human Rights Watch, echoed the call.

"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.

For Bachelet's successor, ISHR program director Sarah Brooks warned that "the stakes have never been higher."

The organisation and others have been heavily critical of the opaque nature of the appointment process. ISHR director Phil Lynch warned that this lack of transparency and consultation could come at a price.

"The secretary-general missed a key opportunity to build the legitimacy and authority of the next high commissioner," he said.

Lynch added, though, that his organization and others would "seek to work closely and collaboratively with the next high commissioner to protect human rights and to pursue accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims."

The UN General Assembly created the OHCHR in December 1993. The resolution spelling out its mandate calls for the top job to rotate by geographic region, but the idea is not always respected as several Latin Americans have held the post.

Until now, the only regional group not to have held the top job is Eastern Europe, which includes Russia.

Top News

UN / UN Chief

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Representational image. Photo: Collected
    35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'agree on most issues' as first day of talks ends
  • How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit
    How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs

MOST VIEWED

  • File Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS
    Bangladesh faces economic impact as US introduces 35% tariff on exports
  • None saw it coming: What went wrong in Bangladesh’s tariff negotiation with US 
    None saw it coming: What went wrong in Bangladesh’s tariff negotiation with US 
  • Clashes took place between police and protesters in Sylhet on 2 August. Photo: TBS
    Hasina authorised deadly crackdown on protesters during 2024 July uprising, BBC verifies leaked audio
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    BB governor asks banks to create forced loans for unpaid import LCs
  • Representational image. Photo: TBS
    35% US tariff to be disastrous for Bangladesh's exports, say economists and exporters
  • Trump's 35% tariff zaps Bangladesh's $8.4 billion export lifeline
    Trump's 35% tariff zaps Bangladesh's $8.4 billion export lifeline

Related News

  • ‘Our main problem is disinformation, fake news,’ CA Yunus tells UN
  • Indo-Pak military escalation: Time for UN to act and let Kashmiris decide their fate
  • Israel shuts 6 UN schools for Palestinians
  • Accountability key to resolving Rohingya crisis: Dhaka
  • Bangladesh, UNOPS sign project document to train female peacekeepers

Features

Women are forced to fish in saline waters every day, risking their health to provide for their families. Photo: TBS

How Mongla’s women are bearing the brunt of rising salinity

14h | Panorama
Dr Mostafa Abid Khan. Sketch: TBS

Actual impact will depend on how US retailers respond: Mostafa Abid Khan

1d | Economy
Thousands gather to form Bangla Blockade in mass show of support. Photo: TBS

Rebranding rebellion: Why ‘Bangla Blockade’ struck a chord

2d | Panorama
The Mitsubishi Xpander is built with families in mind, ready to handle the daily carpool, grocery runs, weekend getaways, and everything in between. PHOTO: Akif Hamid

Now made-in-Bangladesh: 2025 Mitsubishi Xpander

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Leaked audio: Jinping thought Trump was crazy

Leaked audio: Jinping thought Trump was crazy

11h | TBS World
What can be done to counter the impact of US tariffs?

What can be done to counter the impact of US tariffs?

12h | Podcast
Elections can be held before Ramadan if preparations are complete: Press Secretary

Elections can be held before Ramadan if preparations are complete: Press Secretary

12h | TBS Today
What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Our Broken Political System

What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Our Broken Political System

1h | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net