(Source: VGP)

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) told a Human Rights Day press conference on Wednesday that global human rights in 2025 are under severe pressure from conflicts and funding cuts. Anti-rights movements are emerging in many developed countries.

A worrying human rights picture

The OHCHR cited distressing data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) indicating that revenues for the 100 largest arms companies reached a record 679 billion USD in 2024. SIPRI said demand was boosted by conflicts in many parts of the world, from Gaza in the Middle East to Ukraine in Europe to Sudan and other Sahel hotspots in Africa.

According to preliminary UN statistics, armed conflicts claimed 250,000 lives worldwide in 2025 and caused severe food insecurity in 14 global hotspots. More than 295 million people worldwide faced acute hunger, 14 million more than in 2024. About 1.9 million people experienced catastrophic levels of hunger, twice the 2024 figure.

“This is the new arithmetic of conflict. When food systems are attacked, weaponized, the impact is global. Food itself has become a weapon, through deliberate starvation tactics, which we are seeing all too often, but also through the systematic destruction of agricultural systems,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said.

The operations of human rights bodies and humanitarian relief agencies have been severely impacted by funding shortages. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said his organization is struggling for survival after a budget shortfall of 90 million USD last year which forced it to cut 300 jobs, including some essential ones.

The UN said its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) aims to assist 87 million people at a cost of 23 billion USD next year, but current pledges cover only a small portion of that.

“Our priority for 2026 is to save 87 million lives. The plan includes 29 more detailed plans covering 50 countries. This includes 4 billion USD to reach 3 million across the occupied Palestinian territories, 2.8 billion for 20 million people in Sudan, the world's largest displacement crisis, and 2 billion for the 7 million Sudanese forced to flee,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher. “It includes 1.4 billion to save 4.9 million lives in Myanmar and those fleeing the crisis there. And much, much more.”

The digital gap

Ongoing conflicts, technological inequality, and the lack of effective cyberspace governance mechanisms are placing increasing pressure on global human rights efforts. The rapid boom in technology has deepened the digital divide between developed and developing countries. Cybercrime, particularly AI-driven crime, is causing trillions of dollars in losses each year, mostly from victims in developing countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa.

The UN has warned that without proper safeguards and regulations, AI systems have the potential to turn into a modern-day Frankenstein’s monster. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said generative AI holds tremendous promise, but its exploitation for purely political or economic benefit can manipulate, distort, and distract. The threats to several human rights, including privacy, political participation, free expression, and work are clear and present.

Türk also warned that corporate power has grown significantly, based largely on the accumulation of personal and corporate wealth among a handful of players. In some cases, this exceeds the economies of entire countries. And if power is not constrained by law, it can lead to abuse and subjugation. Meanwhile, technology is being used to spread misinformation fueling anti-rights and anti-gender movements in many developed countries.

“There is significant money flowing into the anti-rights agenda from funders based in Europe, Russia, and the United States. Such massive funding, coupled with media capture and disinformation strategies, has made the anti-rights agenda a powerful cross-regional force,” said  Mr. Türk.

Turk’s warning has been repeated by the European Parliament this year. The European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights said that from 2019 to 2023, anti-rights groups in Europe raised about 1.2 billion USD, much more than the contributions to human rights programs in some countries.

Recently, advocacy groups in the UK and some other European countries, with government backing, have sought to remove provisions from the European Convention on Human Rights and impose stricter immigration policies, raising concerns that the rights of vulnerable groups will be restricted.