In his keynote address to the Institute, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, addresses the disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law across the globe. Amid escalating conflict, deepening inequalities, and growing divisions, High Commissioner Türk speaks about how we need more human rights – not less. Human rights provide a compass to steer us through some of the greatest challenges of our time. We need an unwavering commitment to multilateralism and international law to work towards an equal and just future for all.

Speaker bio:

Volker Türk was appointed as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2022. Prior to this, Mr. Türk was the Under-Secretary-General for Policy in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General. Over the course of his career, he held a number of key positions including as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva (2015-2019), during which time he played a key role in the development of the landmark Global Compact on Refugees. Mr. Türk holds a doctorate in international law from the University of Vienna and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Linz, Austria.