U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, speaks about the Annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women, during the 56th session of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, June 28, 2024. Türk warned Wednesday July 3, 2024 about rising hatred and discrimination around the world in a “mega-year for elections,” calling on voters to put rights of others in mind when they cast their ballots.
He blasted the “politics of distraction” and said political leaders needed to stand up against the discourse of hate. “History tells us, in particular in Europe, that the vilification of the other, that the denigration of the other is a harbinger for worse to come,” he said. “It’s an alarm bell that we need to ring.”
“Especially in this year, which is the mega-year for elections,” he noted the United States, India, Europe and beyond have experienced electoral seasons “that often lead to a speech of hatred and dehumanization of the other.” He insisted in general that there must be “zero tolerance” for hate speech and rejected any attempts to denigrate “the other.”