Türk Wins Second Term Despite US, Israel, Russia Opposition as UN High Commissioner

The UN General Assembly voted to reappoint Volker Türk as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for a second four-year term.

Türk is reappointed despite opposition from the United States, Russia and Israel.

The vote passed 144-10 with 13 abstentions, rejecting a US proposal to delay the vote and a Russian proposal to limit Türk's extension to the end of the year.

No previous rights chief has served two full terms since the post was created in 1993.

US Threatens Funding Reassessment

U.S. deputy ambassador Jeff Bartos warned that reappointing Türk would prove the General Assembly "is dysfunctional," saying the vote "was quietly shoved onto the agenda at the last minute to bypass meaningful review."

He warned: "The United States will immediately reassess our engagement, participation and funding."

The Trump administration already owes the UN nearly $4 billion in dues and peacekeeping funding.

Russia and Israel Also Object

Russia's deputy ambassador, Dmitry Chumakov, accused Türk of "political bias" and promoting "Western geopolitical interests under the pretext of concern for human rights."

Israel's Foreign Ministry called Guterres' move his "latest moral failure," saying the decision should have been left to his successor: "After years of bias against Israel, the answer is accountability, not rewriting the rules."

EU, Africa and China Back Reappointment

Speaking for the EU, Ireland's UN Ambassador Fergal Mythen reaffirmed the bloc's "wholehearted support," saying Türk had fulfilled his duties "effectively and with integrity in an objective and non-selective manner."

China, African nations and many Latin American countries also voted in favor, though Nicaragua, Argentina and Paraguay raised objections.

Criticism From Rights Advocates Too

Pro-Israel group UN Watch said Türk condemned Israel "58 times" during his tenure while condemning the US more than China, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Qatar combined.

Separately, former Human Rights Watch head Ken Roth said "the biggest stain on Türk's reputation is his utter abandonment of the Uyghurs," criticizing his limited public follow-up on findings that China's treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang may amount to crimes against humanity.

Türk said on X he is "deeply grateful" for the new term: "Human rights are the antidote to today's turbulence and defeatism."