The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Statements , Conferences , Edited News
Human Rights 75 – Welcome statement by Volker Türk - 11 December 2023
STORY: High-Level Event Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Volker Türk
TRT: 03:04
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 11 December 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exteriors shots: Palais des Nation with HR75 banners
- Various shots: Outside Room 20 in the Palais des Nations participants arriving
- Various shots: Inside room 20 participants
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “In the ashes of global warfare, it brought hope. To put an end to cycles of bloodshed, it promised justice. It promised development that would be secure, equitable; inclusive. It set out the path to peace.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “But alongside the progress that has transformed many of our societies, there have also been numerous failures to uphold human rights over the past 75 years. We live among many such failures today – with the turmoil and suffering that they produce.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “War: my thoughts go to the millions of people suffering unbearably in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably in Gaza, and Israel; in Sudan; Ukraine; Myanmar; and so many other places. Famine. Oppressive and hateful discrimination. Repression and persecution. Threats to human rights generated by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: ““It was drawn up at a time of horror, after the most monstrous mass killing the world has ever known, in the form of the Holocaust – and with the knowledge that total destruction was growing closer. It has demonstrated its power and efficacy over decades. It bridges every sector of Government action and field of human endeavour.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “At a time of so little solidarity, and so much divisive and short-sighted vision, I view it as a call to overcome polarisation. A call to work, with courage and principles, together, to resolve the huge challenges that we face.”
- Cutaways: room 20
- Soundbite (English)— Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights: “A call to hark back to the spirit that led every Member State to adopt the Universal Declaration, and to base local, national and global decisions, across all areas of policy, on the intrinsic, and equal, value of every human life”
- Cutaways: room 20
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA , IFRC
Lebanon faces escalating violence, with new mothers uncertain of safety amid ongoing crises.
1
1
1
Edited News | FAO , UNHCR , WHO
Sudan: 14 million displaced; hunger and attacks on health continue as war enters fourth year
As Sudan approaches the third anniversary of a brutal civil war, millions remain displaced and hungry while the health system lies in ruins, with no end to the violence in sight, UN agencies said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNHCR , WFP
Lebanon: People ‘still under the rubble’ after massive strikes as ambulances, hospitals come under threat – UN humanitarians
With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WHO
Lebanon: disease risks on the rise as displacement surges
With displacement in Lebanon past the one million mark, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday about the spread of infectious diseases in shelters and surging mental health needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers are supporting civilians who’ve chosen to stay in the south amid deadly dangers from Israel-Hezbollah clashes, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandace Ardiel tells us.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WFP
Middle East war fallout: Hundreds of thousands flee Lebanon to Syria; vital food aid blocked – UN agencies
The trauma of mass displacement and humanitarian supply chain disruptions throughout the world are among the devastating impacts of the war raging in the Middle East, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Bitterness, sadness and pride for UNRWA staff, says departing chief
Asking the softly spoken, veteran humanitarian worker Philippe Lazzarini how he feels as he comes to the end of his second term as the head of the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, is perhaps an unfair question.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , WHO
Middle East war causes civilian terror and disrupts aid, but some relief efforts resume.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk addressed the Human Rights Council, delivering a video statement on the strike that hit a girls school in Minab, Iran recently, calling for accountability and protection of children.