By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK – In commemorating Human Rights Day on December 10, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk issued a stark warning that the most basic of human rights values have weakened across Europe. He called on EU member states to “reclaim” commitments that have come under increasing pressure such as the current EU Rule of Law Report, citing “civic space is shrinking in about half of EU member states.” Turk said: “we need an open and free civic space. We must be able to express our views, to protest, to assemble. Yet, I see many trends and political debates aiming to restrict civic space, including on the environment, climate and migration.” The U.N. human rights chief also spoke about digital governance, referring to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA, warning of “trends and debates suggesting we should reduce these standards. I hope the EU’s 27 members will not go down that path.” Turk also stressed European leadership in regulating business and human rights, explaining that numerous companies are demanding strong human-right-based frameworks.
Turk was highly critical of the rhetoric around migration, commenting: “At the political level, migrants and refugees are often demonized. We must never start by demonizing any group, because it becomes a very slippery slope.” He reiterated that current debates on migration ignore the very human dimension of displacement and risk boosting discrimination. As Turk explained, the theme of Human Rights Day 2025 is ‘Our Everyday Needs’ and that the concept originated from a misunderstanding that human rights are abstract, even though they are a core part of daily life. As Turk said: “They related to food, water, sanitation, affordability, housing, health, education. These are all human rights.” As he concluded: “We must return to the basics of what human rights are and defend them, for ourselves and for others.”
