GENEVA: The United Nations human rights chief has welcomed Tanzania’s response to violence linked to the October 2025 general election, commending the establishment of an independent inquiry to examine the causes of the unrest and strengthen national reconciliation.
Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, High Commissioner Volker Türk said Tanzania’s decision to investigate violations surrounding the polls was a positive step toward transparency and accountability.
Following unrest during the election period, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan created a commission of inquiry chaired by retired Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman.
The Commission of Inquiry was established by President Samia Suluhu Hassan following isolated incidents of violence during and after the October 2025 General Election.
It is mandated to investigate the causes, nature and extent of the unrest, identify those responsible and assess the response of state institutions, including security agencies.
The inquiry will examine grievances raised by participants and review statements and interactions between political parties and the Independent National Electoral Commission during the electoral period.
In addition to receiving testimonies from victims, the Commission will hear from political leaders, security officials, civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders.
Its findings are expected to underpin recommendations aimed at strengthening democratic processes, promoting national and reconciliation while considering whether alternative mechanisms could have resolved disputes and minimised harm.
Tanzania used the Geneva session to parade broader governance and development initiatives.
Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs Dr Juma Homera outlined reforms under the Tanzania Development Agenda, Vision 2050, which emphasises good governance, constitutionalism and social progress.
He cited the rollout of a universal health insurance scheme aimed at expanding affordable healthcare access and noted improvements in service delivery. Health facilities have grown from 8,549 in 2020 to 12,846 in 2025, while access to clean water has increased in both rural and urban areas.
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World growing more dangerous as conflicts multiply
Speaking on Friday, the United Nations’ human rights chief expressed concerns that the world is increasingly becoming more dangerous as armed conflicts multiply, civilian protections erode and global power is increasingly used to dominate rather than serve people,
The High Commissioner questioned the very purpose of global power struggles, who holds it and how it is shifting, arguing that the debate had lost sight of the fundamental question: what power is for.
“People around the world want peace, safety and a decent standard of living,” he said. “In short, they want their human rights.”
His remarks came amid mounting instability. The number of armed conflicts has nearly doubled since 2010 to about 60, with civilian casualties rising sharply. The use of force to resolve disputes, he said, was becoming normalised. “Conflict is a human rights wasteland.”
The High Commissioner expressed alarm that political leaders were failing to reverse the trend and, in some cases, undermining institutions designed to uphold international law, including the United Nations, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
He also highlighted the erosion of nuclear arms control after the expiry of the New START Treaty, which previously limited the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. Without a successor agreement, he urged Washington and Moscow to negotiate new limits and called on all states to recommit to non-proliferation.
Citing conflicts from Sudan to Ukraine, he said international law was being flouted with impunity. In Sudan, advanced weaponry is being used in residential areas and aid convoys targeted, preventing relief from reaching civilians.
“In Ukraine, critical infrastructure has been destroyed, leaving communities without electricity, heating or water,” he said.
Mr Turk accused Israel of pursuing annexation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in breach of international law, while Myanmar’s military continues its campaign against pro-democracy forces.
A decade ago, an attack on a hospital would have triggered global outrage, he noted. Now there are around ten attacks a day on healthcare facilities worldwide.
“Ignoring atrocity crimes fuels greater bloodshed,” he warned. “The world cannot stand by as the edifice of international humanitarian and human rights law is dismantled.”
The High Commissioner also highlighted crises in Yemen, Ethiopia and South Sudan, warning that famine risks in Yemen have re-emerged for the first time since 2022 and condemning the detention of UN staff by Houthi authorities.
In Ethiopia, renewed fighting and stalled peace efforts have displaced communities and heightened regional tensions. In South Sudan, indiscriminate attacks and sexual violence continue, while Syria and Lebanon face fragile security conditions.
Rising authoritarianism, inequality and emerging risks
Beyond war zones, he described a global drift towards authoritarianism: vague national security laws, criminalisation of dissent, media restrictions and the scapegoating of minorities.
He cited repression in countries including Iran, Belarus, Egypt, India, Tunisia and Türkiye, and expressed concern over shrinking civic space in Georgia and Pakistan.
In China, he urged an end to the use of broad security laws to suppress fundamental freedoms and called for accountability over alleged abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
He also raised alarm over the state of emergency in El Salvador, prison violence in Ecuador and excessive force in US migration operations. Over the past three and a half years, 310 journalists have been killed, with most cases going unpunished.
Women and minorities, he said, face intensifying threats. In Afghanistan, restrictions on women’s movement and education resemble “apartheid based on gender.”
At least 50,000 women and girls were killed worldwide in 2024, mostly by family members, while misogyny and online abuse against women in public life are rising. He also warned of growing antisemitism, Islamophobia and hostility towards migrants.
Economic inequality, he argued, was deepening. The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is “alarmingly off track”, and cuts in development aid could lead to more than 22 million avoidable deaths by 2030.
Meanwhile, global wealth is concentrated: billionaires amassed enough last year to eliminate extreme poverty many times over. In Cuba, US restrictions on fuel have worsened shortages, leaving families without adequate medical care or food — measures he said could not justify “the asphyxiation of an entire population.”
Turning to climate and technology, he warned that environmental degradation and unregulated artificial intelligence pose profound human rights risks. Current climate trajectories point to at least 2.3C of warming by the century’s end.
He referenced an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice affirming states’ obligations to act on climate change, questioning whether inaction could one day be judged as ecocide.
AI, meanwhile, is increasingly concentrated in the hands of powerful corporations and billionaires. While it offers benefits in healthcare and conflict prevention, it risks deepening inequality and undermining democracy if left unchecked. States, he said, must regulate AI so human rights are embedded in its design and deployment.
Despite the stark assessment, the High Commissioner ended with cautious optimism, announcing plans to launch a Global Alliance for Human Rights aimed at mobilising support for those seeking a fairer and more peaceful world.
“The final move in the authoritarian playbook is persuading people that they are powerless,” he said. “But human rights remind us that we are not.” The future, he concluded, depends on collective choices, voices and action.
