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	Trump budget bill hurts America’s poor and working-class to give tax cuts to rich by Brennan Center, Children's Defence Fund, agencies USA   July 2025   Trump budget bill hurts America’s poor and working-class to give tax cuts to rich, by Steven Greenhouse for Guardian news   "Never before has legislation taken so much from struggling families to give so much to the richest. It makes the biggest cuts to food aid for hungry families, executes the largest cuts to health care ever".   $117 billion in tax cuts are directed to the richest 1 percent of Americans next year, exceeding the amount going to the entire bottom 60 percent of taxpayers.   The top 1 percent by income will receive tax cuts totaling $1.02 trillion over the next decade.. while at least 17 million Americans will lose health coverage, 7 million people, including over 2 million children, will lose food aid or have their food aid cut dramatically..   Last November, Donald Trump made a solemn vow to all Americans: “Every citizen, I will fight for you, your family and your future every single day.” Eight months later, Trump is vigorously backing many policies that will mean pain for millions.   Trump has pushed to enact the Republican budget bill, which would make significant cuts to Medicaid, Obamacare, and food assistance, and would do the greatest damage to those Americans struggling hardest to make ends meet – the 30% of the US population that lives in households earning under $50,000 a year.   Even as Trump and Republican lawmakers are rushing to cut over $1.4tn in health and food assistance for non-affluent Americans, Trump continues to pressure Congress to extend over $3tn in tax cuts that disproportionately help the wealthy and corporations.   Trump has embraced these Robin-Hood-in-reverse policies, even though it was voters earning less than $50,000 a year who delivered victory to him last November. They favored him over Kamala Harris by 50% to 48%, according to exit polls, while Trump and Harris tied among voters earning $50,000 or more a year.   Several social policy experts said Trump has engaged in hypocrisy at best and betrayal at worst when it comes to the working-class and blue-collar Americans he promised to fight for. Speaking about the Republicans’ “big, beautiful” budget bill, Sharon Parrott, president of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, said: “Who’s getting hit, who’s bearing the cost? It’s people with low and middle incomes, people that the president and many Republican policymakers promised to serve and support in the last election.”   The budget bill would mean a net financial loss for the bottom 30% of American households by income – after factoring in its tax provisions and cuts in benefits. The House bill would hit the lowest-earning 10% of Americans hardest: for them, it would mean a painful $1,600 cut in income on average (a 3.9% drop), according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).   At the same time, the Trump-backed bill would be a boon to wealthy households – it would mean a $12,000 increase in net income, on average, for households in the top 10%, those earning above $692,000 a year. According to the Yale Budget Lab, the top 0.1% – those with income over $3.3m – would receive tax cuts of $103,500 on average.   The CBO says the income of the bottom 10% tops off at $22,868 (before factoring in government transfers). The second lowest decile earns from $22,868 to $43,137; the third decile earns up to $55,628; and the fourth up to $68,601.   The Yale Budget Lab found that the bottom 20% of US households would see their incomes drop by 2.9% on average over the next decade, and the second lowest quintile – moderate-income households – would suffer a 0.4% loss of income on average. But the richest 20% would see their incomes rise by 2.3%. Those in the top 1% would see their incomes climb by $29,585 on average.   Trump is demanding these big tax cuts for the rich even though the CBO says the budget bill will increase the federal debt by $3.3tn – a move that will push up interest rates and make mortgages and home-buying more expensive.   According to the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, the $121bn tax cuts that would go just to the richest 1% next year are significantly more than all the tax cuts that would go to the bottom 60% of Americans in terms of income.   The poorest 20% of Americans would receive just 1% of the bill’s tax cuts next year, while the highest earning 5% would receive 44% of the cuts.   Last week, Trump urged lawmakers to enact the bill, saying: “There are hundreds of things in there. It is so good.” At a news conference, the president said the more than $1tn in Medicaid and food assistance cuts wouldn’t hurt anyone.   “It won’t affect anybody,” he said. “It is just fraud, waste and abuse.”   But Parrott took a sharply different view: “The bill stands alone historically for its unique upside-down mix of large tax cuts for the top, deep cuts that affect low- and middle-income people, and massive increases in deficits and debt.”   John Ricco, the Yale Budget Lab’s associate director of policy analysis, said: “It’s unambiguous that low- and moderate-income Americans will be worse off on average under the budget bill, and that’s principally because the cuts in Medicaid and Snap [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] would by definition fall most heavily on these groups,” Ricco said.   Jeanne Lambrew, the Century Foundation’s director of health policy reform, estimates that at least 17 million Americans will lose health coverage because of the budget bill – refuting White House claims that “no one will lose coverage”. Lambrew said the bill would cause a more than 50% increase in the number of uninsured nationwide, to nearly 45 million people.   What’s more, the Trump-backed plan sharply reduces Affordable Care Act subsidies, and that will force millions of Americans to either drop coverage or pay far more for coverage. Millions of Americans will find it harder to obtain healthcare, with many forced to take on far more medical debt.   While Trump and many Republicans say the Medicaid cuts are all about reducing “waste, fraud and abuse”, Lambrew calculates that a mere 3.5% of the $1tn in healthcare cuts come from cutting waste and abuse. “What Trump has been saying is, ‘We’re not cutting Medicaid. We’re just cutting fraud.’ That’s gaslighting.” Lambrew said.   Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent the Senate a letter that harshly criticized the budget bill. “As Pope Leo XIV recently stated, it is the responsibility of politicians to promote and protect the common good, including by working to overcome great wealth inequality,” he wrote. “This bill does not answer this call. It takes from the poor to give to the wealthy.”   According to a Quinnipiac University poll, only 27% of registered voters support the GOP budget bill, while 53% oppose it. A Fox News poll found that 38% support the bill, while 59% oppose it.   The House bill’s deep cuts in food benefits will cause 7 million people, including over 2 million children, to lose food aid or have their food aid cut significantly. The Trump-supported bill also makes sharp cuts in Pell grant awards. The Center for American Progress says this means 4.4 million students from low- and moderate-income families could lose some or all of their federal grant aid.   In another blow to Americans earning under $50,000, Trump pushed to have the budget bill eliminate the “Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program”, which, as one website put it, “keeps poor people from freezing to death at home”. Killing the program would end heating subsidies for 6 million Americans, but so far congressional Republicans have spared the program and not bowed to Trump on this.   In another blow to blue-collar Americans, the bill would undo much of Joe Biden’s efforts to speed the creation of clean-energy industries, and that could put hundreds of thousands of potential jobs at risk, many of them factory jobs.   “In this bill, folks in Congress went out of their way not to give anything to low-income people,” said Chuck Marr, vice-president for federal tax policy at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. He noted that in previous tax cut bills that favored the rich, GOP lawmakers made sure to include some sweeteners for low- and moderate-income Americans.   “But in this bill,” Marr said, “folks in Congress said: no, we’re going to go after these people. They’re going after healthcare and food, and these are the people who are also going to get hammered by Trump’s tariffs.” Lower-income people spend a higher percentage of their income on goods.   “This bill is a major shift,” Marr added. “They’re taking away from poor people and working-class people and channeling it to very high-income people. I think it’s punitive. It’s harsh. It’s mean, brutal.”   Trump’s tariffs would also hit less affluent Americans hardest. One study found that Trump’s planned tariffs would cause the bottom 20% of households to pay up to 5.5% of their income toward tariff-caused higher prices. That’s more than two and a half times the percentage that those in the top 20% would pay (2.1% of income).   Trump has repeatedly boasted that the bill contains several provisions he championed to help working-class Americans. At a White House event to promote the bill, he pointed to a DoorDash driver from Wisconsin who was on hand to help make his case that the “no tax on tips” provision would help workers.   But tax experts say that provision will help only a tiny fraction of those earning under $50,000. Only 4% of workers in the bottom half by income are in tipped jobs. Moreover, nearly two-fifths of tipped workers are already earning so little that they don’t pay federal income taxes.   “Given how the current income tax system works, this provision will provide little or no benefit to those workers,” said Ricco. “Those workers tend to have low incomes, and the US system doesn’t basically tax their incomes, and this won’t offer them any additional tax reduction.”   As for Trump’s much-ballyhooed “no tax on overtime” provision, that, too, will do little for those earning under $50,000, Ricco said. “That provision is really geared to middle- and upper-middle groups,” he said. “People in the bottom 50% aren’t paying much income tax, and so no tax on overtime wouldn’t benefit them much. People in the bottom 40%, they’re often in a precarious employment situation.”   Ricco estimated that for Americans in the bottom 40% by income, the no tax on overtime provision will mean “less than a $10 tax cut per year”. “It’s essentially a rounding error,” he said.   Republicans boast that increasing the child-tax credit will help millions of struggling families – the House bill would increase that credit, now $2,000, to $2,500, while the Senate raises it to $2,200. Under current law, one in four children – about 17 million – are ineligible to qualify for the full $2,000 credit because their family’s income is too low to qualify for the full credit. A two-parent family with two children needs to earn over $48,000 to obtain the full credit.   Under the House bill, a single parent with two children who earns $16,000 a year would get no additional tax credit, while a married couple with two kids and a $400,000 income would see their tax credit jump by $1,000.   With their eagerness to cut the social safety net, Republicans seem to be treating millions of Americans who earn less than $50,000 as undeserving takers. “People earning under $50,000 are major targets of the Republican agenda. Their health coverage is targeted. Their food security is targeted,” said Marr. “They are left out of key provisions expanding tax cuts, like the child tax credit. They are most at risk from the Republican tariffs. They’ll be hurt across the board.”   Marr said the budget bill treats “these people very harshly”.   “It’s the harshest bill we’ve ever seen since budget deficits became an issue 40 years ago,” he said. “This is the first bill that simultaneously targets programs for poor people and working-class people to pay for it, and then takes that money to pay for tax cuts for very wealthy people. It makes poor and working-class people worse off.”   Children’s Defense Fund ‘Deeply Disturbed and Disappointed’ by budget reconciliation package.   "On Thursday, the United States House of Representatives passed a budget reconciliation package that includes massive tax cuts for the rich and wealthy.   “Children’s Defense Fund believes all young people deserve to grow up with dignity, hope, and joy. That is why, for more than 50 years, we have committed to a vision of children and families across this nation thriving. And that is why, today, we are deeply disturbed and disappointed by the passage of H.R. 1.   “The bill has been called ‘big’ and ‘beautiful,’ but it is big only in its audacious harms to everyday people. It is bad and brutal in its gutting of essential programs children and families rely on for their day-to-day needs.   “A budget is a statement of our values—a moral document that reveals who we choose to protect and who we leave behind. This package values the rich, wealthy, and corporations. And it devalues children and youth by making historic cuts to Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It devalues the families of 17 million children by deeming them ‘ineligible’ and ‘undeserving’ of the vital Child Tax Credit (CTC).   “In this moment, we are reminded that poverty is a policy choice. That every child who goes without basic health care, a nutritious meal, and a safe place to sleep bears the burden of choices made on Capitol Hill".   http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/trump-budget-bill http://www.protectourcare.org/new-protect-our-care-launches-hospital-crisis-watch-as-gop-tax-scam-threatens-widespread-hospital-and-care-center-closures/ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667193X25002145 http://www.defendpublichealth.org/resource/talking-points-sounding-alarm-about-cdc-budget-cuts-fy2026 http://itep.org/megabill-is-on-its-way-to-trump-heres-what-its-tax-changes-mean-for-families-across-the-u-s http://itep.org/top-1-to-receive-1-trillion-tax-cut-from-trump-megabill-over-next-decade/ http://www.childrensdefense.org/childrens-defense-fund-deeply-disturbed-and-disappointed-by-h-r-1-passage/ http://www.cbpp.org/press/statements/republican-bill-will-raise-costs-poverty-and-hunger-take-health-coverage-away-from http://www.epi.org/blog/the-radical-republican-budget-bill-steals-from-the-poor-to-give-tax-cuts-to-the-rich   http://www.ucs.org/resources/science-and-democracy-under-siege http://www.citizen.org/article/deleting-enforcement-trump-big-tech-billion-report/ http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/pressreleases/new-tax-law-threatens-nonprofits-ability-serve-communities-warns-national-council http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/pressreleases/over-1000-charitable-nonprofits-launch-national-sign-letter-defend-nonpartisanship http://cpb.org/pressroom/Corporation-Public-Broadcasting-Addresses-Operations-Following-Loss-Federal-Funding http://apts.org/news/press-releases/us-senate-appropriations-committee-fails-restore-essential-funding-local-public-broadcasting http://inequality.org/article/10-terrible-ways-the-gop-budget-causes-harm/ http://inequality.org/article/republican-tax-law-bad-for-economy/ http://breachrepairers.org/get-involved/news/a-house-passed-domestic-policy-bill-threatens-millions-of-poor-low-wage-americans/ http://www.france24.com/en/americas/20250904-trump-assault-federal-workers-union-rights-just-the-beginning http://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-will-increase-the-number-of-americans-without-health-coverage-in-every-state-and-congressional-district/   http://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/what-political-corruption-and-what-can-we-do-about-it http://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/voting-power-grab-nod-putin http://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/texas-messes-democracy http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/12/us-rights-report-mixes-facts-deception-political-spin http://humanrightsfirst.org/library/human-rights-reports-exemplify-trump-administrations-destructive-hypocrital-stance-on-rights/ http://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/u-s-state-departments-human-rights-report-puts-politics-above-human-rights/ http://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/leaked-u-s-state-department-human-rights-report-reveals-alarming-omissions-on-global-violations/ http://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/leaked-u-s-state-department-human-rights-report-reveals-alarming-omissions-on-global-violations/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-set-to-ease-travel-restrictions-on-west-african-leader-accused-of-corruption-officials-say http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/un-expert-appalled-us-withdrawal-sanctions-against-companies-providing   http://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-coons-shaheen-democratic-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-safeguard-the-integrity-of-future-country-human-rights-reports http://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-comment-on-trump-administration-boycott-of-united-nations-review-of-us-human-rights-record http://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-condemns-president-trumps-threats-to-use-the-military-in-cities-across-the-country http://humanrightsfirst.org/library/this-is-an-order-from-trump-abuse-expulsions-and-refoulement-of-people-seeking-asylum/ http://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/08/democracy-promotion-trump-putin-europe http://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/08/is-the-prohibition-on-the-use-of-force-collapsing http://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/08/democracy-promotion-trump-putin-europe   7 July 2025   Leading Medical Professional Societies sue U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Unlawful, Unilateral Vaccine Changes.   Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Public Health Association (APHA), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA), Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), and a pregnant physician, filed suit in ​American Academy of Pediatrics v. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to defend vaccine policy, and to put an end to the Secretary’s assault on science, public health and evidence-based medicine.   Plaintiffs in the case are suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Kennedy for acting arbitrarily and capriciously when he unilaterally changed Covid-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people.   Secretary Kennedy has also unjustly dismissed 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and appointed replacements who have historically espoused anti-vaccine viewpoints. This committee has proceeded to undermine the science behind vaccine recommendations.   The lawsuit asks for preliminary and permanent injunctions to enjoin Secretary Kennedy’s rescissions of Covid vaccine recommendations and a declaratory judgment pronouncing the change in recommendations as unlawful.   “This administration is an existential threat to vaccination in America, and those in charge are only just getting started. If left unchecked, Secretary Kennedy will accomplish his goal of ridding the United States of vaccines, which would unleash a wave of preventable harm on our nation’s children,” said Richard H. Hughes IV, partner at Epstein Becker Green and lead counsel for the plaintiffs.   “The professional associations for pediatricians, internal medicine physicians, infectious disease physicians, high-risk pregnancy physicians, and public health professionals will not stand idly by as our system of prevention is dismantled. This ends now.”   The lawsuit charges that a coordinated set of actions by HHS and Secretary Kennedy were designed to mislead, confuse, and gradually desensitize the public to anti-vaccine and anti-science rhetoric, and that he has routinely flouted federal procedural rules.   These actions include blocking CDC communications, unexplained cancellations of vaccine panel meetings at the FDA and CDC, announcing studies to investigate non-existent links between vaccines and autism, unilaterally overriding immunization recommendations, and replacing the diverse members of ACIP with a slate of individuals biased against sound vaccine facts.   The anonymous individual plaintiff in the lawsuit is a pregnant woman who is at immediate risk for being unable to get the Covid-19 vaccine booster because of the Secretarial Directive, despite her high risk for exposure to infectious diseases from working as a physician at a hospital.   The plaintiff organizations urge parents and patients to follow their qualified medical professionals' vaccine guidance.   Susan J. Kressly, M.D., FAAP, President, AAP:   “The American Academy of Pediatrics is alarmed by recent decisions by HHS to alter the routine childhood immunization schedule. These decisions are founded in fear and not evidence, and will make our children and communities more vulnerable to infectious diseases like measles, whooping cough, and influenza. Our immunization system has long been a cornerstone of U.S. public health, but actions by the current administration are jeopardizing its success. As we pursue action to restore science to U.S. vaccination policy, AAP will continue to provide the science-based, trusted recommendations that every American deserves.”   Jason M. Goldman, MD, MACP, President, ACP:   “The American College of Physicians is highly concerned about the administration’s recent actions regarding ACIP and the negative impact it will have on our patients and our physician practices. Destabilizing a trusted source and its evidence-based process for helping guide decision-making for vaccines to protect the public health in our country erodes public confidence in our government’s ability to ensure the health of the American public and contributes to confusion and uncertainty. As physicians, we require reliable, science-based guidance that is based on the best available evidence, developed through an evidence-based and transparent process, to ensure the safety, welfare, and lives of our patients.”   http://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/leading-medical-professional-societies-patient-sue-hhs-robert-f-kennedy-jr-for-unlawful-unilateral http://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/32580 http://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.286605/gov.uscourts.mad.286605.1.0.pdf http://www.savehhs.org/read-the-letter http://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/opinion/cdc-leaders-kennedy.html http://www.defendpublichealth.org/resource/talking-points-sounding-alarm-about-cdc-budget-cuts-fy2026   Apr. 2025   As President Donald Trump celebrates his first 100 days in office, a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll finds that a plurality of Americans give him a failing grade.   Forty-five percent of U.S. adults rated Trump’s return to the Oval Office an “F,” including 80 percent of Democrats and 49 percent of independents. At the other extreme, 23 percent of Americans, including 54 percent of Republicans, gave the president an “A.”   Over half of U.S. adults say Trump’s second term has had a mostly negative effect on their lives, and a majority believe he is rushing to make changes without considering the effects of his actions. A majority of Americans — 53 percent — disapprove of his leadership. When asked about Trump’s handling of the economy, 39 percent said they approved. Another 55 percent disapproved, while 6 percent were unsure.   Trump’s tariffs and trade policies have raised concerns and anxiety among Americans, with sixty-four percent of Americans say they expect grocery prices to rise in the next six months. A number of economists predict a coming economic recession, with inflation and interest rates expected to rise.   http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/democrats-outragedafter-senator-forcibly-removed-dhs-news-conference-122796366 http://apnews.com/article/immigration-protests-los-angeles-media-4b9b062785bde9428a3155812fd092de http://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/06/10/governor-newsoms-address-to-california-democracy-at-a-crossroads/ http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/09/veterans-trump-national-guard-la-protests http://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/this-is-what-autocracy-looks-like-8339/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-trump-filled-key-positions-with-people-who-spread-extremist-views http://theglobalobservatory.org/2025/06/as-the-un-charter-turns-80-americas-commitment-to-it-is-withering/   http://www.nbcnews.com/science/climate-change/earth-co2-record-global-warming-rcna210974 http://www.nybooks.com/online/2025/05/16/an-epa-without-science/ 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	Civilians are paying an unbearable price, in a naked struggle for power and resources by Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights   Sep. 2025   UN rights chief denounces ‘glorification of violence’ and attack on rule of law. (UN News)   UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned what he called a worldwide “glorification of violence” which is underway, as well as “coordinated efforts” to undermine fundamental birthrights. “It is time for States to wake up and to act,” he insisted.   “No one is safe when human rights are under attack,” Mr. Turk told the Human Rights Council, warning that the rules of war “are being shredded”.. “Some States are becoming an extension of their ruler’s personal power,” he said.   In his address to the UN’s top rights forum in Geneva, the High Commissioner for Human Rights decried that “pro-war propaganda is everywhere”, from military parades to “ramped-up rhetoric” from leaders.   “Sadly, there are no peace parades or ministries of peace, he stressed, while calling for countries to stand firm against the growing “erosion” of international law.   The High Commissioner defended the importance of standing behind multilateral accords as “the foundation of peace, our global order and our daily lives, from trade rules to the global internet, to our fundamental rights”.   Today, governments “are disregarding, disrespecting and disengaging” the existing rules-based world order that was established after 1945 to prevent another world war, the UN rights chief insisted, in a call for accountability.   The danger is that when States ignore violations of the law, “they become normalised,” Mr. Türk said. “When States apply the law inconsistently, they undermine the legal order everywhere. It is time for States to wake up and to act.”   Condemning the continued illegal detention of United Nations staff in Yemen as a “direct attack on the UN system”, Mr. Türk also called the United States’ withdrawal “from the Paris Agreement and from global bodies, including this Council…deeply regrettable”, noting that other States were following suit.   The High Commissioner also warned of the negative consequences of the decision by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to leave the Ottawa Treaty on land mines, while identifying the “new trend of disparaging” the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which all countries had agreed to a decade ago.   As is usual at the start of Council sessions, the High Commissioner highlighted situations of concern around the world, from Afghanistan – where the “erasure” of women and girls from public life “is almost complete” – to Haiti which is “plunging deeper into lawlessness; Nigeria, which is seeing a resurgence of Boko Haram extremism; and Syria – whose transition to peace remains “fragile”.   In Ukraine, following the largest drone assault of the conflict, Russia’s full-scale invasion “has turned even more deadly”.   In Sudan, besieged El Fasher is under constant bombardment and the risk of further atrocities remains, Mr. Türk said, while in Myanmar, four years since the military coup, people remain caught up in “a harrowing human rights calamity”.   Turning to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, “damning evidence” indicates continued “grave violations and abuses” by all parties to the conflict, the High Commissioner continued, while Gaza is now a “graveyard”, amid Israel’s “mass killing” of Palestinian civilians.   “We are failing the people of Gaza…Where are the decisive steps to prevent genocide?” he asked. “Why are countries not doing more to avert atrocity crimes? They must stop the flow to Israel of arms that risk violating the laws of war.”   Continuing his briefing of country situations of concern in addition to thematic issues, Mr. Turk maintained that progress sought by his office, OHCHR, to protect the rights of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in China has “yet to materialise”.   In West Africa, meanwhile, restrictions on LGBTQ+ people are growing in some countries considering criminalising consensual same-sex relations, the High Commissioner said, just as the rights of migrants and refugees are being increasingly violated.   “Iran and Pakistan have forcibly returned millions of Afghans to their country and India has also deported groups of Rohingya Muslims by land and sea,” he insisted.   Similarly, Germany, Greece, Hungary, and other European countries “have also sought to limit the right to seek asylum”. He took note of concerns about the United States’ reported agreement with El Salvador, South Sudan, Eswatini, Rwanda and others, to deport third country nationals, and underlined Kuwait’s decision to revoke citizenship for thousands of people in recent years, “leaving many stateless”.   On imminent national elections across Africa, Mr. Turk also cited serious concerns over polling preparations in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.   “In many of these countries, the authorities are resorting to harassment, exclusion or detention of opposition leaders; restrictions on media freedom; bans on peaceful protest; and crackdowns on human rights defenders,” he said.   The UN rights chief also urged the Ethiopian authorities to ensure conditions for free, fair and inclusive elections, amid concerns about arbitrary detentions of journalists.   As part of the UN’s efforts to improve and promote human rights, he urged all countries to do more so that “every child – whether a future farmer, digital worker, doctor or shopkeeper” understands that human rights “are our birthright”.   Adding: “The vast majority of people around the world are crying out for human rights and freedoms… No one is safe when human rights are under attack. Abuses committed against one group are always part of a broader pattern of oppression and lead to the wider erosion of fundamental freedoms”.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/09/hc-turk-updates-human-rights-council-we-need-safeguard-eighty-years http://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/regular-sessions/session60/list-reports http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165794   Speech delivered by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk at 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 3rd March 2025:   "Our world is going through a period of turbulence and unpredictability, reflected in growing conflict and divided societies.   The international community has come through many setbacks and periods of geopolitical turmoil since the founding of the United Nations.   But what we are experiencing goes to the very core of the international order – an order that has brought us a level of global stability. We cannot allow the fundamental global consensus around international norms and institutions, built painstakingly over decades, to crumble before our eyes.   I am here to sound the alarm. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 120 conflicts rage around the world. War is the ultimate violation of human rights.   It is outrageous that across these conflicts, the legal frameworks designed to safeguard civilians, limit damage, and ensure justice are dismissed and discarded, blatantly and repeatedly.   Civilians are deliberately attacked. Sexual violence and famine are used as weapons of war. Humanitarian access is denied, while weapons flow across borders and circumvent international sanctions. And humanitarian workers are targeted. In 2024, a record 356 humanitarian workers were killed while providing aid to people in some of the world’s most appalling crises   Conflict is a chaos machine. As I briefed last week, the conflict in Sudan threatens to explode across the region. Parties to the conflict and their allies continue to launch devastating attacks on densely populated areas and civilian infrastructure with total impunity, as the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe deepens.   Civilians are paying an unbearable price, in a naked struggle for power and resources. All countries must use their influence to apply pressure on the parties and their allies, to stop the war, embark on an inclusive dialogue, and transition to a civilian-led Government.   In Ukraine, three years since the full-scale Russian invasion, people continue to suffer appallingly. Civilian casualties rose by 30 percent between 2023 and 2024. Russia's armed forces have systematically targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure with coordinated strikes, severely reducing electricity capacity and causing widespread disruptions to essential services.   Relentless attacks with aerial glide bombs, long-range missiles, and drones have placed civilians in a state of constant insecurity and fear. In occupied territory, the Russian Federation continues to restrict Ukrainians’ fundamental rights and freedoms severely. I am dismayed by continued reports of summary executions and the widespread and systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces. This situation is dire.   Any discussions about ending the war must include Ukrainians and fully respect their human rights. Sustainable peace must be based on the United Nations Charter and international law.   In Gaza, Israel’s means and methods of warfare, in response to the horrific attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023, have razed the territory and shredded the social and physical fabric. We must above all end the conflict in Gaza.   Any solution to the cycles of violence must be rooted in human rights, including the right to self-determination, the rule of law and accountability. All hostages must be freed; all those detained arbitrarily must be released; and humanitarian aid into Gaza must resume immediately.   In the West Bank, I am alarmed by the use of military weapons and tactics, including tanks and airstrikes, against Palestinians; the destruction and emptying of refugee camps; the expansion of illegal settlements; the severe restrictions on movement; and the displacement of tens of thousands of people. Israel’s unilateral actions and threats of annexation in the West Bank, in violation of international law, must stop.   The recent escalation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is now drawing in regional players and devastating entire communities in North and South Kivu. In the past five weeks, thousands of people have reportedly been killed during attacks by the M23 armed group, backed by the Rwandan Armed Forces, in intense fighting against the Armed Forces of the DRC and their allies.   There are horrifying reports of rape, sexual slavery and summary executions. More than half a million people have been forced to flee this year, adding to almost 7.8 million people already displaced in the country. The violence must stop, violations by all parties must be investigated, and dialogue must resume.   In Myanmar, 2024 was the deadliest year for civilians since the military coup four years ago. The military ramped up brutal attacks on civilians as their grip on power eroded, with retaliatory airstrikes and artillery shelling of villages and urban areas, arbitrary arrests and prosecutions, and the forcible conscription of thousands of young people. I urge the international community to cut decisively the supply of arms and finance that enable the military’s vicious repression.   In Haiti, gang violence spiraled out of control last year. More than 5,600 people were killed, and thousands more were injured or kidnapped. Deep economic and social inequalities have been exacerbated by violence, including sexual violence and violence against children. Over one million people are internally displaced, half of them children. Full implementation of the Security Council's arms embargo and support to the Multinational Security Support Mission are crucial to resolving this crisis.   Hostilities in and around Yemen continue, with an alarming impact on the human rights and humanitarian situation. Almost 20 million Yemenis need humanitarian support. I am outraged by the death of a World Food Programme colleague in detention earlier this month. All 23 UN staff - including eight colleagues from my own Office - who are arbitrarily detained by the Houthis must be released immediately.   Conflict causes chaos – but it arises from its own twisted logic. Some people – autocrats, demagogues, profiteers – benefit from that chaos, whether through divide and rule tactics, predatory business practices, or simple theft.   Conflict bleeds into all our lives, from the products we buy to the newsfeeds we scroll; from minerals mined in war zones, to the so-called bot farms and scam centres that flourish in the most lawless corners of the world.   We are all somewhat implicated, and we all have a responsibility to act – through our consumption habits, our social media use, and our political and social engagement.   Accountability is key: making sure perpetrators of abuses and violations are held to account for their crimes.   We can trace a clear line between the lack of accountability for airstrikes on hospitals in Syria in the 2010s, attacks on healthcare facilities in Yemen, and the destruction of health systems in Gaza and Sudan. According to one study, 2023 was the deadliest year for healthcare workers in a decade. Some 480 were killed during armed conflict – nearly double the previous year.   Accountability remedies the past and protects the future. Last month, for example, a Swedish court convicted an ISIS-affiliated woman of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Yazidis in 2015. A court in Mexico recently upheld the conviction of five military officers for the extrajudicial executions of university students in 2010.   And ongoing investigations by the International Criminal Court into various situations create hope of justice for victims everywhere.   Around the world, civil society, lawyers and victims are calling on warring parties to respect international law and pursue avenues of accountability. States need to be put on notice that the world is watching, including on arms transfers to conflict zones.   Beyond States, corporations must also be held to account, including for damage to our climate and our environment.   In December, for example, the Supreme Court of Kenya reaffirmed a landmark decision awarding compensation for deaths caused by lead poisoning. I am also encouraged by a growing wave of litigation that seeks to hold fossil fuel companies to account for climate-related damage.   But these cases are the exception rather than the rule. In this connection, I urge the European Union to maintain robust human rights and environmental due diligence at the heart of their corporate sustainability laws, as they consider reforms.   An absence of accountability leads directly to an absence of peace. And yet, a tireless search for peace is what the world needs most. Pre-emptive strikes cannot replace preventive diplomacy.   Today, wars are lasting longer, and peace negotiations are less successful. According to one study, the number of conflicts that ended through peace agreements fell from 23 per cent in the 1970s to four per cent in the 2010s.   For millions of people around the world, war has become a simple, devastating fact of life. This should shake us all.   We need to build peace from the ground up; to grasp it, nurture it, protect it, and promote it, at every opportunity. Bring warring parties to the table. Ensure that women are involved from beginning to end. Build peace around human rights.   Transitional justice seeks to do exactly that. It helps fractured societies to heal, reconcile and rebuild. We see its impact all over the world.   In Liberia, my Office’s support has played an important part in advancing transitional justice and promoting accountability. Establishing the Office of a War and Economic Crimes Court last May was a significant step towards justice for victims of the civil wars between 1989 and 2003.   In Colombia, we are reminded of the importance of the participation of civil society in peace-building efforts, notably women, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous Peoples. Peace requires constant vigilance as part of a sustained, victim-centered transitional justice process.   The design and implementation of Ethiopia’s transitional justice process will be key to demonstrating its ability to address past violations. This is a fragile moment. The human rights situation continued to be dire in 2024, notably in the Amhara and Oromia regions. The situation in Tigray has improved since the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, but tensions remain high.   Worryingly, civic space has become more restricted throughout the country. Proposed amendments to the media law put the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly at risk. None of these steps are conducive to sustainable peace.   The Western Balkans are an example of transitional justice delayed. Almost 30 years after the end of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, more progress on peacebuilding, economic and social reforms, and the protection of human rights is badly needed. Across the whole region, leaders must abandon ethno-nationalist agendas and revisionist narratives that justify or deny atrocity crimes and glorify convicted war criminals.   Our Office is working to get transitional justice back on track. I am following closely the ongoing peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the hope that they will lead to a process of truth-telling, healing, and reconciliation. We stand ready to support. All those arbitrarily detained in Azerbaijan, including ethnic Armenians, must be released immediately, and fair trial rights must be respected fully.   Bangladesh last year experienced a paroxysm of violence as the government of the time brutally suppressed a student movement that carried human rights as its torch. The country is now charting a new future.   Our recent independent fact-finding report on the grave human rights violations that took place is an important contribution to this journey. I hope it will support truth-telling, accountability, reparations, healing, and reform. It will be crucial to ensure due process in criminal cases and investigate revenge violence, including against minorities.   Syria is also at a critical turning point. My Office, together with local and international organizations, raised the alarm and documented appalling human rights violations and abuses for over fourteen years, before the regime was ousted. This record can now support justice and truth telling.   The interim authorities are facing difficult challenges and we are ready to accompany them moving forward. I am concerned by reports of revenge violence and abuses. The authorities have an opportunity now to deliver on Syrians’ expectations, guided by the human rights of all Syrians, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion and race. Women must play a full role in all transitional institutions and decisions.   When I visited Lebanon earlier this year, I was encouraged by the commitment of the new leadership to human rights. The country now has a unique opportunity to embark on legal reforms and address deep inequalities and other social and economic issues. These will be crucial to restore social cohesion, build public confidence in State institutions, and deliver on the aspirations of the Lebanese people.   Even in societies that are nominally at peace, people are feeling insecure and unmoored. Communities and societies struggle with polarisation and division – which are anathema to human rights.   I have followed recent election campaigns in Europe, North America and beyond with increasing trepidation. Single-issue soundbites devoid of substance oversimplify complex issues and are often based on scapegoating, disinformation, and dehumanization.   Migration, for example, is an age-old phenomenon that can be addressed to everyone’s benefit. Refugees fleeing persecution are entitled to live in safety, free from harassment. And yet, migrants and refugees are widely labelled as illegals, criminals, vermin or worse. We have heard these terms before.   Excessive use of force and deaths of people of African descent at the hands of law enforcement officials persist, often rooted in systemic racism. Other communities face deep-seated, caste-based discrimination, related to work and descent.   LGBTIQ+ people, particularly transgender people, continue to face high levels of violence, harassment, and discrimination, in all regions of the world.   People with disabilities face discrimination, bias and stigma every day. Dehumanization is a well-worn step towards treating an entire group as outsiders, unworthy of the basic rights we all enjoy. It is a dangerous precursor to hate and violence and must be called out whenever it occurs.   From autocracies to democracies, women and girls are denied their rights in myriad ways.   In Afghanistan, women and girls are subject to State-sponsored gender apartheid that is unparalleled in today’s world. Virtual prisoners within their homes, they are denied the most basic and fundamental freedoms essential to normal life, including movement, education and work. I am deeply concerned for the long-term future of a country that is self-harming on a national scale.   In Iran, the Hijab Law has been temporarily suspended. I call again on the authorities to repeal the law fully and permanently, along with all other laws and practices that discriminate against women and girls.   I also urge them to release all human rights defenders from detention and to end arbitrary arrests and imprisonment. I am deeply troubled by the marked increase in executions last year, with over 900 reported cases. I have urged the Iranian authorities to place an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty.   More broadly, I am concerned about the resurgence in some quarters of toxic ideas about masculinity, and efforts to glorify gender stereotypes, especially among young men. It is shocking to me that misogynistic influencers have millions of followers on social media and are hailed as heroes in some quarters.   Online and offline, these ideas are translating into a wider pushback against gender equality, as well as violence and hateful rhetoric against women, women human rights defenders, and women politicians.   We see these trends across all regions, from Latin America and Africa to East Asia, Europe, North America and beyond. In some cases, they are making their way into reforms to laws and policies, and risk reversing hard won gains on gender equality.   While more than 60 countries and territories have liberalized their abortion laws over the past 30 years, we are now seeing attempted rollbacks in many countries. Forty percent of women globally live under restrictive abortion laws. As always, it is the most marginalized women who suffer most.   We have enjoyed bipartisan support from the United States of America on human rights over many decades, thanks to the generosity and compassion of the American people. I am now deeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction that is taking place domestically and internationally.   In a paradoxical mirror image, policies intended to protect people from discrimination are now labelled as discriminatory. Progress is being rolled back on gender equality.   Disinformation, intimidation and threats, notably against journalists and public officials, risk undermining the work of independent media and the functioning of institutions. Divisive rhetoric is being used to distort, deceive and polarize. This is generating fear and anxiety among many.   Societies need certain ingredients to thrive: a free public square with space for open debate, free and independent media, an independent judiciary, and transparent and representative state institutions. But when I look around the world, I see a troubling picture.   In Nicaragua, the recent Constitutional reform significantly increases the concentration of power in the Presidency, and dismantles checks and balances. Fundamental rights are at risk of being further curtailed, including the elimination of the prohibition of torture. I urge the Nicaraguan authorities to return to a democratic path, and to pursue a meaningful and constructive dialogue to this end.   In Venezuela, I noted the announcement that more than a thousand people were released after being detained following the presidential elections. All those arbitrarily detained must be released immediately. Political negotiations between the different stakeholders are urgently needed, to agree on a viable pathway forward. I call for all electoral processes to be transparent, inclusive, peaceful, and fully in line with international human rights standards.   In Argentina, I am troubled by recent executive actions that bypass established procedures for Supreme Court appointments, which risk undermining the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. I also have serious concerns about the effect of austerity policies on the growing number of people living in poverty.   In Mozambique, I call for the impartial and independent investigation into human rights violations and abuses which took place in the post-election period. My Office is ready to work together with the new government and civil society to advance respect and protection of human rights in the country, including to strengthen human rights compliance of security forces.   We have received many reports about a continued crackdown in the Russian Federation on civil society and independent media, under the guise of national security. Stringent laws have been adopted to stifle free expression, labelling critical voices as foreign agents or undesirable organizations. Many journalists and activists, including anti-war protestors, have faced harassment, arrest, or exile, resulting in the near elimination of any form of dissent within the country.   In Belarus, severe limitations on freedom of expression, association, and assembly persist, and human rights activism has all but disappeared. I note the recent series of releases from detention and call on the authorities to free all those who remain arbitrarily detained.   While China is engaging with the international human rights system, I refer back to my previous updates raising serious concerns and hope to see meaningful progress on these issues. I continue to make representations on behalf of lawyers, human rights defenders and citizen journalists who have been arbitrarily detained under vague criminal offences.   In Hong Kong S.A.R., the broad application of national security laws continues to stifle civic space. The recent report by International Labour Organization experts, on counter-terrorism measures and labour programmes in the Xinjiang region, reinforces our own grave concerns and the urgency of addressing our longstanding recommendations.   I am also concerned by the impact of education policies and continued restrictions on freedom of expression, religion and belief in the Tibet Autonomous Region. I will take these issues forward in our ongoing engagement.   In Thailand, I remain troubled by the dissolution of the Move Forward Party last August, and the legal cases being pursued against its leaders. This impacts people's right to participate in public affairs and political life. Given last week’s deportation of ethnic Uyghurs, I also call on Thailand to respect the fundamental principle of non-refoulement.   India’s democracy and institutions have been its greatest strength, underpinning its diversity and development. Democracy requires constant nurturing of participation and inclusion at all levels of society.   I am concerned by the use of restrictive laws and harassment against human rights defenders and independent journalists resulting in arbitrary detention and a diminished civic space, including in Kashmir. I also call for stepped-up efforts to address violence and displacement in Manipur, based on dialogue, peacebuilding and human rights.   Civic space is shrinking in Egypt, where the authorities are using anti-terrorism legislation against those expressing dissent, including human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and peaceful demonstrators. These practices are creating fear, silencing critical voices and hindering participation of human rights defenders in international human rights processes. I reiterate my call for the release of all those detained for exercising their human rights.   We are seeing similar trends in other countries, including Algeria and Tunisia.   On a more general note, I am particularly concerned by the growing phenomenon of targeting journalists, human rights defenders and political dissidents across borders, using technology to track them. This insidious practice is used to intimidate, threaten, silence, detain, forcibly disappear and even kill opponents and critics. It sends a clear message that no place is safe, and leaves people living in a constant state of fear.   Globally, the number of direct, physical incidents of transnational repression has been rising since 2020, with egregious examples from around the world. We have observed in particular a pattern of abductions, disappearances and in some cases killings, in mainland Southeast Asia.   I urge all States to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward extra-legal transfers, renditions and abductions, and to ensure full accountability for these violations, as well as respect for the principle of non-refoulement.   Today’s massive shifts and profound transformations have left people in many countries around the world feeling alienated and abandoned. They believe their grievances and fears for the future are not taken seriously. As a result, they have lost trust in political leadership and institutions, which leads to more fragmentation.   My response is: your concerns are our concerns, because they are about human rights - to education, to health, to housing, to free speech, and access to justice. Human rights are about people’s daily concerns for their families and their future. They are also about equity, global solidarity and sustainable development.   Human rights can never be played off against each other; they reinforce each other and reveal how we are all connected. The solution to today’s pervasive unease lies in more respect for human rights, not less.   It lies in uniting around more effective and efficient multilateral institutions and frameworks that protect us all.   I am deeply troubled by efforts from a number of countries to undermine and inhibit the functioning of international legal frameworks and institutions, including the International Criminal Court, which is a fundamental pillar of international criminal justice. I am stunned by the ease with which various international institutions are cast aside, with measures that hinder the vital work they and their staff carry out.   Economic systems must deliver on economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights, the right to development, and the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.   The Paris Agreement is an essential tool. We need a laser focus on stopping the climate crisis in its tracks and protecting those already feeling the heat. The World Health Organization plays an essential role in preventing pandemics and safeguarding people’s wellbeing.   Sweeping cuts to domestic social safety nets, climate finance and foreign aid signal a massive setback for human rights protection, for conflict prevention, and for global stability.   Social security, humanitarian and development aid, climate finance and national security are not in opposition – they are mutually reinforcing.   Today, power dynamics are changing. Individuals and corporations have never had so much control and influence over our lives.   A handful of unelected tech oligarchs have our data: they know where we live, what we do, our genes and our health conditions, our thoughts, our habits, our desires and our fears. They know us better than we know ourselves. And they know how to manipulate us.   Any form of unregulated power can lead to oppression, subjugation, and even tyranny – the playbook of the autocrat. We must adapt – fast. States must fulfil their duty to protect people from unchecked power, and work together to achieve this.   In response to all the challenges I have outlined, we need to bring back the value of science, knowledge and facts. And we need a clear, unequivocal commitment to the rule of law, to transparency, and to independent institutions, all anchored in human rights.   We also need a global coalition pushing for an alternative vision, based on wisdom, justice and compassion. We must inspire with our values and demonstrate that human rights are a winning proposition for humanity. We must cherish the values of respect, unity and solidarity; and work together for a safer, more just, more sustainable world".   * Speech delivered by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk at 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 16 June 2025: "We need the strongest possible defence of international law and human rights”:   http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/06/hc-turk-updates-human-rights-council-we-need-strongest-possible http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/03/turbulence-and-unpredictability-amid-growing-conflict-and-divided http://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/regular-sessions/session58/list-reports Visit the related web page
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