Rule of law outmuscled by 'rule of force', warns UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Feb 23 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.

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“Human rights are under a full-scale attack around the world,” Mr Guterres said at the opening of the UN Human Rights Council's annual session in Geneva. “The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force.”

The UN chief 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”.

While he did not delve into specific situations, he voiced outrage at Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine, where he said more than 15,000 civilians had been killed.

“It is more than past time to end the bloodshed,” he said.

He also highlighted the “blatant violations of human rights, human dignity and international law in the occupied Palestinian territory”.

Mr Guterres charged that the current trajectory in the conflict-torn territories under Israeli occupation was “stark, clear and purposeful: the two-state solution is being stripped away in broad daylight”. “The international community cannot allow it to happen,” he insisted.

In his final in-person address to the UN’s top rights body, Mr Guterres said the worst conflict-hit areas were not the only places where rights were eroding.