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UN chief Guterres decries global rise of ‘rule of force’
Khaleej Times
|February 24, 2026
The UN secretary-general highlights ‘blatant violations of human rights, human dignity and international law in Occupied Palestinian Territory’
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council at the United Nations office in Geneva on Monday. - AFP
(AFP)
The United Nations leader warned Monday that "the rule of force” was spreading, as the powerful trample on international law and wield artificial intelligence and other technologies to attack human rights.
"Human rights are under a full-scale attack around the world," Antonio Guterres told the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s annual session in Geneva.
"The rule of law is being out-muscled by the rule of force.”
The UN secretary-general stressed that "this assault is not coming from the shadows, or by surprise. It is happening in plain sight -- and often led by those who hold the greatest power".
This story is from the February 24, 2026 edition of Khaleej Times.
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