The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the shortfall has already forced the loss of 300 jobs.
Published On 10 Dec 2025
The United Nations’ top human rights official says his office is struggling to operate after major funding cuts from donor governments, even as rights abuses escalate across the globe.
Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said on Wednesday that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has $90m less than it needs this year. He told reporters the shortfall has already forced the loss of 300 jobs and reduced the organisation’s ability to monitor violations around the world.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items
- list 1 of 4Trump’s $12bn aid package: Are tariffs bleeding US farmers?
- list 2 of 4Zelenskyy warns Russia, China stepping up military-industrial cooperation
- list 3 of 4Are Israel, Hamas entering the second phase of Gaza ceasefire?
- list 4 of 4Masked neo-Nazis march through Arkansas community
end of list
“Our resources have been slashed, along with funding for human rights organisations, including at the grassroots level, around the world,” Turk said. “We are in survival mode.”
Donor governments including Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden have pulled back on UN contributions and aid as they prioritise defence and domestic spending. A significant reduction has also come from the United States, where the administration of US President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the role of the UN, withdrawing from UN agencies and supporting a congressional rescission that removed funding for international organisations, including the UN.
The warning from Turk comes as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which handles humanitarian aid and crisis response, launches a $23bn appeal for 2026 while also facing cuts of its own, ackno