Volker Türk

Volker Türk (born 27 August 1965) is an Austrian lawyer and United Nations official. He has been the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights since October 2022.

Volker Türk
Türk in 2022
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 October 2022
Preceded by	Michelle Bachelet
Personal details
Born	(1965-08-27) 27 August 1965
Alma mater	University of Linz University of Vienna
Occupation	Lawyer

Education

Born in Linz, Austria, he attended the Linz Khevenhuller Gymnasium. Türk received a Master of Laws from the University of Linz. He received a doctorate in international law from the University of Vienna, where his doctoral dissertation was on the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its mandate.

Career

Early years

In 1991, Türk became a UN Junior Professional Officer and had a temporary assignment in Kuwait funded by the Austrian Foreign Ministry. He then held posts with the UNHCR in different regions of the world, including Malaysia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He later became the Director of the Division of International Protection at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. In February 2015, he was appointed Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, making him the highest-ranking Austrian UN official; he played a role in the development of the Global Compact on Refugees.

On 18 April 2019, Türk was appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres to be Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General at the UN Secretariat. From 2021 to 2022, he served as Under-Secretary-General for Policy in the Executive Office. Türk coordinated UN global policy work and follow-up to the Secretary-General’s “Call to Action for Human Rights” and report, "Our Common Agenda".

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

2022–23

On 8 September 2022, Türk was selected to be the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. He assumed office on 17 October 2022. His stated priorities include building a stronger UN human rights presence on the ground, and raising more money for a UN office that he said was underfunded.

In 2023 he led the Human Rights 75 initiative, to advance women's and children's rights, support climate change mitigation, and empower people with disabilities. Türk promotes human rights as a solution to new challenges, such as the implications of digital technology on privacy and freedom of expression.

In January 2023, Türk criticized the "expedited removal" border policy of the administration of President Joe Biden and the United States under which illegal alien non-citizens could be removed from the country or denied entry, saying it posed a risk to fundamental rights.

In April 2023, Türk called on Russian authorities to free the longtime Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza who had been sentenced to a 25-year prison sentence on charges including treason. The sentence is "another blow to the rule of law and civic space in the Russian Federation", said Türk.

In May 2023, Türk said Iran in that year had an "abominable" track record of executions with an average of more than 10 people hanged each week. He called on Iranian authorities to abolish the death penalty. In the same month, two days after Iran executed two men for criticizing Islam on social media, Türk announced that Iran would chair the 2023 UN Human Rights Social Forum.

In July 2023, after a man at an authorized protest in Stockholm, Sweden, tore pages from a Quran and set them on fire, Türk condemned the burning. Several western countries and the EU stressed, however, that while the burning had been offensive, blasphemy laws, which punish oral or written statements perceived as an affront to religions or other sacred icons, were clearly a violation of international human rights law and freedom of expression.

2024–present

In February 2024, Türk criticized what he called India's "increasing restrictions on civic space ... as well as ... hate speech and discrimination against minorities, especially Muslims." India’s Ambassador to the UN at Geneva Arindam Bagchi said that Türk's accusations were "unwarranted and do not reflect the reality of the largest democracy in the world."

In March 2024, Türk said he recognised "China's advances in alleviating poverty and advancing development" and urged the release of human rights defenders, lawyers and others detained under the “picking quarrels and making trouble” legislation. He also called on China to implement the recommendations in the 2022 UN Human Rights Office report on Xinjiang.

In April 2024, the Arakan Army in Myanamar cautioned that Türk was "stressing the plight of the Muslim community alone," which "means ignoring other non-Muslim groups suffering from the same war," and that it is important for Türk to state that civilians are suffering because of "Muslim extremist groups."

In September 2024, US Senator Tom Cotton wrote a letter to Türk, highlighting Türk's refusal to call Hamas a terrorist organization even in the wake of its execution of six hostages in Gaza, despite the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Japan, and the European Union having already done so.

During the Israel-Hamas war, Türk said Israel may - if intent were proven - be using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza, which would amount to a war crime; Israel's economy minister, Nir Barkat, said Türk's warnings were "total nonsense - a totally irresponsible thing to say".

Personal life

Türk lives in Geneva, Switzerland.

Awards

In May 2016, Türk was awarded the University of Graz Human Rights Award for protecting refugees worldwide and to highlight the role of the UNDCR in supporting refugees.

Publications

He is published on international refugee law, statelessness and human rights issues including in the International Journal of Refugee Law.

• Erika Feller, Volker Türk, Frances Nicholson (eds.): Refugee Protection in International Law. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003, ISBN 0-521-53281-7.