Volker Turk tells the UN Human Rights Council that policies meant to protect marginalised people are being called ‘discriminatory’.
The United Nations human rights chief has expressed deep concern about a “fundamental shift in direction” by the United States under President Donald Trump, warning that divisive rhetoric is being used to deceive and polarise people.
“We have enjoyed bipartisan support from the US on human rights over many decades. … I am now deeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction that is taking place domestically and internationally,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, during a speech that did not mention Trump by name.
“Policies intended to protect people from discrimination are now labelled as discriminatory. … Divisive rhetoric is being used to distort, deceive and polarise. This is generating fear and anxiety among many,” he added in his strongest remarks so far on the impact of the new US administration’s policies.
Since taking office on January 20, Trump has issued a series of executive orders aimed at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programmes across the federal government. Many private US companies have followed suit.
Trump also paused US Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes for 90 days while his administration reviews if they align with his “America first” policy.
Last week, the Trump administration announced it was cancelling nearly 10,000 foreign aid grants and contracts worth almost $60bn, accounting for nearly 90 percent of USAID’s work internationally.
The president has also disengaged the US from several international bodies and agreements, including the Human Rights Council, World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement.
Turk condemned Trump’s appointment of tech billionaire Elon Musk as head of his Department of Government Efficiency.
Without referring to him by name, Turk expressed concern over the growing influence wielded by “a handful of unelected tech oligarchs” who are privy to people’s data.
Turk warned that those tech tycoons “know where we live, what we do, our genes and our health conditions, our thoughts, our habits, our desires and our fears”.
“They know us better than we know ourselves, and they know how to manipulate us,” he said, warning that unregulated power can lead to “oppression, subjugation and even tyranny: the playbook of the autocrat”.
The UN rights chief urged countries to protect their citizens from unchecked power and “work together”.