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ILGA WORLD CONGRATULATES VOLKER TÜRK ON HIS APPOINTMENT AS THE NEW UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

ILGA World congratulates Volker Türk on his appointment as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Since 2019, Türk has served as Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. Prior to this appointment, he was Assistant High Commissioner for Protection in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva (2015-2019), and had previously served in key UNHCR positions for over a decade.

We do express our regret, however, that despite calls to the United Nations Secretary-General for an open and transparent process to identify and select the High Commissioner, there was no meaningful consultation with civil society stakeholders.

At a time when universal human rights are increasingly under threat, and mechanisms to defend them are subject to mounting multilateral pressure, Türk’s role is more important than ever. The new UN High Commissioner must demonstrate his unwavering support to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all, unequivocally including people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics.

We also would like to thank the former High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, for the support to our communities.