U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk despaired Thursday his agency is “in survival mode” due to funding shortfalls driven by a lack of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Such is his fear for the future Turk launched a $400 million appeal for cash to help the U.N. Human Rights Office survive 2026, AFP reports.
The unelected Austrian’s panicked plea comes after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres warned last Friday the world body is on the brink of financial collapse and could run out of cash by July, as he urged countries to pay their dues, as Breitbart News reported.
The U.N.’s largest contributor, the U.S., is currently refusing to contribute to its regular and peacekeeping budgets and withdrew from several agencies it called a “waste of taxpayer dollars.”
These include the U.N.’s population agency and the U.N. treaty that establishes international climate negotiations, AP reports.
The Trump White House also intends to exit dozens of other global organizations or initiatives not affiliated with the U.N. but still reliant on massive U.S. taxpayer funds, all driven by President Donald Trump’s demand for accountability.
The lawyer turned career bureaucrat claimed global human rights are now under “significant assault” and his office based in Geneva, Switzerland, faces dire funding shortages hampering its work as a result of Trump’s decision.
“Our reporting provides credible information on atrocities and human rights trends at a time when truth is being eroded by disinformation and censorship,” Turk confided to diplomats at the U.N. rights office headquarters.
“We are a lifeline for the abused, a megaphone for the silenced, and a steadfast ally to those who risk everything to defend the rights of others,” the AFP report set out.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L) and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk are both crying out for money and cash donations to help their elite, globalist organizations function. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
In 2025, the office’s regular budget — set by the U.N. General Assembly of member states — was $246 million, but it ultimately received only $191.5 million of that money.
It also sought $500 million in voluntary contributions, of which $257.8 million came in.
Turk went on to plead, “We are currently in survival mode, delivering under strain.”
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“These cuts and reductions untie perpetrators’ hands everywhere, leaving them to do whatever they please. With crises mounting, we cannot afford a human rights system in crisis,” he added.
The AFP report notes U.N. human rights office lost around 300 out of 2,000 staff last year and had to end or scale back its work in 17 countries.
