Latest news with #UN-wide
Morocco World
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Morocco's Bouayach Meets UN Chief to Call for Rights-Based Global Reform
Rabat – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Amina Bouayach, head of Morocco's National Human Rights Council (CNDH) and current president of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), to discuss how national institutions could claim a stronger voice in shaping the global agenda. The meeting, held yesterday at the UN headquarters in New York, reflects a growing push from Bouayach and the GANHRI network to ensure that institutions rooted in local realities help guide international decisions, especially as the world confronts overlapping crises. Bouayach spoke on behalf of more than 120 national institutions across the globe. She thanked Guterres for placing rights at the core of the UN's work and called his 'Call to Action' and the 'Pact for the Future' crucial reference points for those working to defend dignity on the ground. 'Human rights are not a decorative element of global diplomacy,' she said. 'They form the very core of justice. National institutions speak with the voices of those who often go unheard, victims, citizens, activists, and carry their realities from the field to decision-making halls.' During the meeting, Bouayach laid out two key proposals to Guterres. First, she called for national institutions to be granted formal participation in key UN platforms held in New York, such as the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). These forums shape the UN's long-term goals, and Bouayach argued that national institutions, with their direct knowledge of conditions on the ground, would bring valuable contributions. Second, she urged for a greater role for GANHRI in the upcoming 'UN80' initiative, a UN-wide reflection ahead of its 80th anniversary. With growing mistrust in global systems and widening gaps between people and power, Bouayach urged the UN to restore the balance between its three founding pillars: peace and security, development, and human rights. 'This moment calls for courage,' she said. 'Rights must return to the center of international reform.' Bouayach also pointed to the existing partnership between GANHRI, the UN Human Rights Office, and UNDP as a model of collaboration that supports national institutions in bolstering their work and independence. This tripartite effort held its annual gathering in New York earlier this week, just before she met with Guterres. 'The challenges we face today are not abstract. They touch lives,' Bouayach lamented. 'GANHRI will remain fully engaged in defending rights across borders. We ask the United Nations to stand with us, so that every country has an institution that protects the dignity of its people, with independence and real impact,' she added. Bouayach was elected president of GANHRI by unanimous vote in March. The election followed strong backing from the African regional group, NANHRI, which officially nominated Bouayach in January 2025. Tags: Amina BouayachCNDHGuterreshuman rightsMorocco
Straits Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
UN rights office in ‘very serious' financial situation
The UN rights agency, which counts 2,000 employees, including around 900 in Geneva, has yet to announce any layoffs. PHOTO: AFP GENEVA - The UN rights office based in Geneva says it is facing a dire financial situation amid deep US funding cuts, but its chief insisted there is no 'panic'. News reports this week suggested that the funding chaos gripping the United Nations had left its human rights agency panicked over a dramatic budget shortfall. 'I have seen and read all sorts of unfounded rumours: that we are all moving to Vienna, that 70 per cent of staff will move to the field except management,' UN rights chief Volker Turk told a town hall meeting with staff on May 15, according to excerpts seen by AFP. 'None of this is true.' Swiss daily Le Temps reported on May 15 that 'a wind of panic' was sweeping over the agency, suggesting it was considering relocating away from pricey Geneva to Vienna, Nairobi and other sites. Reports of mass layoffs and cuts to operations have become common place at UN agencies since US President Donald Trump's return to power in January. He has moved to slash the amount of money his country gives to UN agencies – reversing America's previous status as the largest contributor to many of their budgets. The rights agency, which counts 2,000 employees, including around 900 in Geneva, has yet to announce any layoffs, but Mr Turk acknowledged it was facing 'a very complex time'. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani also told AFP the agency was 'in a very serious financial situation', but stressed: 'We are not in a state of panic.' 'That was a regrettable and unfair characterisation,' she said. 'We are clearly facing unprecedented crises, but it is our response to these difficult times that defines us as an organisation,' she said. In his remarks at May 15's town hall, Mr Turk stressed that the agency had had an 'organisational effectiveness exercise' in the works for a while, denying that plans to relocate more staff from Geneva were sparked by a UN-wide overhaul. 'We had already foreseen decentralisation of certain functions,' he said. 'We remain committed to this approach of shifting relevant functions and posts to the regional offices, so that we can deliver more effectively worldwide. This includes moving managerial posts.' Mr Turk stressed that 'the move to strengthen our regional presences has already been endorsed by the General Assembly, most recently in relation to our presences in Brussels, Beirut, Bangkok, Panama City, Dakar, Pretoria, Nassau and Yaounde'. The UN-wide initiative launched by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in March to streamline operations as world body grapples with new budget realities 'can help us build on this momentum', Mr Turk said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
