Also known as: UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk · Volker also · United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who has called for investigations into airstrikes in Nigeria and Chad, and urged the US to reconsider immigration policies.
… U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk urged companies to ensure that they are not contributing to adverse human rights impacts or to sustaining the conflict. …
… UN rights chief Volker Turk on Thursday called for an immediate end to the fighting, deploring its impact on civilians and saying there were growing fears that the increased clashes could force further displacement, including into other countries.
… The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized vast swathes of territory since it re-emerged in 2021 in mineral-rich eastern DR Congo, which has been plagued by conflict for over 30 years.UN human rights chief Volker Turk said he deplored the violent impact on civilians, and called …
… United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk drew parallels with El Fasher, where a similar 18-month siege ended in an offensive that UN officials said bore the hallmarks of genocide. …
… UN human rights chief Volker Turk called on the authorities to tackle the rampant impunity in the crisis-ravaged Caribbean nation of 12 million people.Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has for years been plagued by instability as powerful gangs carry out rampant killing …
… Audio By Vocalize UN rights chief Volker Turk urged the United States to reconsider its immigration practices for the football World Cup, after fans, a top referee and team officials found themselves barred from the tournament. …
Audio By VocalizeUN rights chief Volker Turk urged the United States to reconsider its immigration practices for the football World Cup, after fans, a top referee, and team officials found themselves barred from the tournament. …
… "The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement. …
Audio By VocalizeUN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk (centre) during a press conference at the Seoul Global Centre in South Korea, on May 13, 2026. …
The UN rights chief condemned changes to Turkey's Child Protection Law that allow juvenile offenders to receive lengthy prison terms in closed institutions instead of education-based ones, raising human rights concerns.
The UN rights chief condemned changes to Turkey's Child Protection Law that allow juvenile offenders to receive lengthy prison terms in closed institutions instead of education-based ones, raising human rights concerns.
The UN human rights office called on states, businesses and parties linked to Sudan's gum arabic industry to uphold international law, warning that profits from the sector help sustain the country's civil war. Sudan produces around 80% of the world's gum arabic, and significant amounts have been smuggled from areas controlled by warring parties and re-exported through neighbouring countries, making them difficult to track.
The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is the "fastest growing" ever, with 1,759 confirmed cases and 600 deaths since mid-May, according to African health authorities and the WHO. The Africa CDC head said the current outbreak is spreading faster than previous ones, including the 2013-16 West Africa epidemic, with case numbers doubling every 28 days.
The United Nations urged an immediate halt to fighting between Democratic Republic of Congo armed forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 militia in eastern DRC, which has displaced civilians and destroyed livelihoods despite a fragile peace deal reached in December.
Sudan's Peace Government has accused the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied militias of preventing residents from leaving El Obeid, using civilians as human shields, and forcing civilians to participate in military operations. The government called for international pressure to allow civilians to leave freely and for the establishment of safe humanitarian corridors.
Gang violence has killed at least 2,300 people in Haiti this year, with 1,100 injured and 99 kidnapped, the UN said Monday. The UN human rights chief urged authorities to tackle impunity and accelerate deployment of the new Gang Suppression Force to address the crisis.
UN rights chief Volker Turk called on the United States to reconsider its immigration practices ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada, after US authorities barred Somali referee Omar Artan and others from entering the country, raising concerns about racial profiling affecting the tournament.
UN rights chief Volker Turk called on the United States to reconsider its immigration practices ahead of the World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, citing cases where fans, a top referee, and team officials were barred from entry. Turk warned that US President Trump's immigration policy could harm the tournament and called for an end to racial profiling and the dehumanization of migrants.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that US fuel restrictions and sanctions imposed since early 2026 are causing widespread suffering and endangering lives in Cuba, particularly children lacking access to medical supplies, and called for their immediate removal.
The UN rights chief called for independent probes into Nigerian and Chadian military airstrikes that reportedly killed dozens of civilians. Nigerian airstrikes on a market in Zamfara state killed at least 100 civilians according to Amnesty International, though the Nigerian military disputed civilian casualty figures as unverified.