The UN human rights chief said on Thursday that his agency was in “survival mode” due to a lack of funding, as it launched a $400 million appeal to tackle global rights crises in 2026.
At a time when global human rights are under significant attack, Volker warned Turk countries that his office faces dire funding shortfalls that could hamper its increasingly important and life-saving work.
“Our report provides reliable information on atrocities and human rights trends at a time when the truth is being destroyed by disinformation and censorship,” he told diplomats at the headquarters of the UN rights office in Geneva.
“We are a lifeline to the abused, a megaphone to the silent, and a staunch ally to those who risk everything to protect the rights of others.”
In 2025, the regular budget of the UN Human Rights Office – set by the General Assembly of UN Member States – was $246 million, but it ultimately received only $191.5 million in funding.
It also sought $500 million in voluntary contributions, of which $257.8 million came in.
Funding for the UN’s human rights work is chronically underfunded, but Mr Turk said: “We are currently in survival mode, delivering under pressure.”
“These cuts and cuts leave the hands of criminals everywhere free to do whatever they like. We cannot afford a human rights system in crisis when crises are mounting,” he said.
The UN human rights office lost nearly 300 of its 2,000 staff last year and had to end or scale back its work in 17 countries.
For example its program in Myanmar was cut by 60%.
High impact, low cost
This year, the General Assembly approved a regular budget of $224.3 million for human rights.
However, as the United Nations faces a liquidity crisis, uncertainty remains over how much funding the Turkish office will receive.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is one of the international organizations suffering from the global funding crisis.
The United States used to be the largest contributor to the United Nations, but has cut its funding since President Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025 — while other countries have tightened their belts.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned last Friday that the world body was on the brink of financial collapse and could run out of cash by July, as he urged countries to pay their dues.
Against this backdrop, Mr. Turk is seeking $400 million in voluntary funding from countries and donors.
Human rights accounted for a small fraction of overall UN spending but produced “high-impact” results that helped stabilize communities, build trust in institutions and underpin lasting peace, he said.
“Our labor costs are low; the human cost of underinvestment is immeasurable,” he insisted.
In 2025, UN human rights staff working in 87 countries undertook more than 5,000 human rights monitoring missions — down to 11,000 in 2024.
“That means less evidence for both protection and prevention,” Mr Turk said.
‘Confronting Privacy’
Giving examples of his office work, Mr. Turk has supported 67,000 survivors of torture and modern slavery, documented dozens of human rights violations and exposed discrimination in more than 100 countries.
He said its monitoring mission in Ukraine was “the only organization” with a comprehensive record of verified civilian casualties “since the initial Russian invasion in 2014”.
In Bangladesh, its fact-finding mission into the 2024 crackdown “helped establish a comprehensive record of systematic and serious human rights violations”.
And the investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo “revealed patterns of serious human rights violations that amounted to crimes against humanity”.
“All of this work aims to bring victims’ stories to the world, confronting secrecy – a powerful ally of oppression – and challenging injustice and impunity,” Mr Turk said.
