UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk launched an appeal Thursday to raise $400 million in 2026 to fund the UN’s objective of addressing global human rights needs and resolving violations and inequities. 

Turk explained the consequences of the lack of funding in 2025, which negatively impacted the UN Human Rights Office’s ability to mend its damaged human rights support system.

The Office conducted only 5,000 human rights monitoring missions, a decrease from 11,000 in 2024. The Office’s programme in Myanmar suffered cuts of more than 60 percent. In Honduras, support for demilitarisation of the prison system and for justice and security sector reforms was reduced. In Chad, advocacy and support for nearly 600 detainees held without legal basis had to be discontinued.

Further, Turk explained how the work the UN does is vital in the mitigation of current and prevention of future violence and human rights breaches. It cannot achieve that goal if it lacks the funding to send UN Human Rights Office representatives to various countries.

The liquidity crisis of the regular budget also significantly affected the work of the broader human rights ecosystem. For instance, 35 scheduled State party dialogues by UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies could not take place. Four out of eight planned country visits by the Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture had to be cancelled. UN Special Rapporteurs’ ability to carry out country visits was curtailed, and the Human Rights Council’s investigative bodies were unable to fulfil their mandates fully.

Against this backdrop, Turk warned that with mounting crises, the world cannot afford a human rights system in crisis.

“The cost of our work is low; the human cost of underinvestment is immeasurable,” Türk stated at the launch. “In times of conflict and in times of peace, we are a lifeline for the abused, a megaphone for the silenced, a steadfast ally to those who risk everything to defend the rights of others”

Violence in conflict zones presents increased threats to UN workers and journalists alike who are attempting to raise awareness of human rights violations.

The UN Human Rights Office noted its impact in 2025. Staff working for the UN Human Rights Office in 87 countries observed more than 1,300 trials, supported 67,000 survivors of torture, documented tens of thousands of human rights violations, and contributed to the release of more than 4,000 people from arbitrary detention.