UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk (Photo: REUTERS)

He pointed out that the world really is becoming a more dangerous place.

Turk said an increasingly relentless competition for power for power’s sake was on display in the world, to the detriment of rights everywhere. He cited a heartbreaking reality: whereas a decade ago, an attack on a hospital would have sparked global outrage, today there are on average up to 10 attacks on healthcare facilities every single day.

Turk urged the international community not to remain indifferent to the erosion of international humanitarian and human rights law, and called on political leaders to take urgent action to reverse this dangerous trend.