By AFP
February 23, 2026
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L) addresses the audience at the opening of the UN Human Rights Council - Copyright AFP Fabrice COFFRINI
Nina LARSON
The United Nations leader warned Monday that “the rule of force” was spreading, as the powerful trample on international law and wield artificial intelligence and other technologies to attack human rights.
“Human rights are under a full-scale attack around the world,” Antonio Guterres told the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s annual session in Geneva.
“The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force.”
The UN secretary-general stressed that “this assault is not coming from the shadows, or by surprise. It is happening in plain sight — and often led by those who hold the greatest power”.
He did not mention specific situations, although he did voice outrage at Russia’s war in Ukraine, where he said more than 15,000 civilians had been killed in four years of violence.
“It is more than past time to end the bloodshed,” he said.
Guterres also highlighted the “blatant violations of human rights, human dignity and international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.
He charged that the trajectory in the conflict-torn territories under Israeli occupation was “stark, clear and purposeful: the two-state solution is being stripped away in broad daylight”.
“The international community cannot allow it to happen,” he insisted.
– Rights attacked ‘deliberately, strategically’ –
In his final in-person address to the UN’s top rights body, Guterres said the worst conflict-hit areas were not the only places where rights were eroding.
“Around the world, human rights are being pushed back deliberately, strategically and sometimes proudly,” he said.
“We are living in a world where mass suffering is excused away, where humans are used as bargaining chips, where international law is treated as a mere inconvenience.”
UN rights chief Volker Turk echoed the concerns.
In a “deeply worrying trend”, he warned that “domination and supremacy are making a comeback”.
“A fierce competition for power, control and resources is playing out on the world stage at a rate and intensity unseen for the past 80 years,” he warned.
“The use of force to resolve disputes between and within countries is becoming normalised.”
Turk highlighted how “the gears of global power are shifting”, calling for people to band together to protect rights and create “a strong counterbalance to the top-down, autocratic trends we see today”.
– ‘Democracies eroding’ –
While the UN says that conflicts are multiplying, impunity is spreading and humanitarian needs are exploding, its traditional top donor, Washington, has dramatically slashed its foreign aid spending since President Donald Trump’s returned to power last year. Other major donors have followed.
“When human rights fall, everything else tumbles,” Guterres warned.
The crisis of respect for human rights “mirrors and magnifies every other global fracture”, he said, pointing out that “inequalities are widening at staggering speed.
At the same time, “climate chaos is accelerating, and technology, especially artificial intelligence, is increasingly being used in ways that suppress rights, deepen inequality and expose marginalised people to new forms of discrimination both online and offline”, he warned.
Turk meanwhile lambasted leaders, without naming them, who seem to believe “that they are above the law, and above the UN Charter”.
“They claim exceptional status, exceptional danger or exceptional moral judgement to pursue their own agenda at any cost,” he said, pointing to how “some weaponise their economic leverage”.
“They spread disinformation to distract, silence and marginalise,” he charged.
What is clear, Guterres warned, was that “across every front, those who are already vulnerable are being pushed further to the margins”.
“Democracies eroding… migrants harassed, arrested and expelled with total disregard for their human rights and their humanity. Refugees scapegoated,” he pointed out, also highlighting how “LGBTIQ+ communities (are) vilified, minorities and indigenous peoples targeted, religious communities attacked”.
Guterres, who is to step down this year after a decade at the UN helm, called for urgent action to reverse the trend.
“Do not let power write a new rulebook in which the vulnerable have no rights and the powerful have no limits,” he said.
UN’s Sudan probe finds ‘hallmarks of genocide’ in El-Fasher
By AFP
February 19, 2026
The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people - Copyright AFP Daniel LEAL
Robin MILLARD
The United Nations’ independent fact-finding mission on Sudan said on Thursday the siege and capture of El-Fasher by a paramilitary group bore “the hallmarks of genocide”.
Its investigation concluded that the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) seizure of the city in Darfur state in October had inflicted “three days of absolute horror” and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
The mission warned that “urgent protection of civilians is needed, now more than ever” in neighbouring Kordofan state, the flashpoint of fighting since the RSF’s capture of El-Fasher, which was marked by ethnic massacres, sexual violence and detention.
“The scale, coordination and public endorsement of the operation by senior RSF leadership demonstrate that the crimes committed in and around El-Fasher were not random excesses of war,” said mission chairman Mohamad Chande Othman.
“They formed part of a planned and organised operation that bears the defining characteristics of genocide.”
Since April 2023, the conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary RSF has killed tens of thousands and forced 11 million people to flee their homes.
It has triggered what the UN says is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The UN Human Rights Council established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan in October 2023, to begin gathering evidence of violations.
Its investigation into the takeover of El-Fasher, following an 18-month siege, concluded that thousands of people, particularly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, “were killed, raped or disappeared”.
The Zaghawa is one of the area’s largest non-Arab ethnic groups.
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who has been widely accused of funnelling support to the RSF on behalf of their patrons, the United Arab Emirates, is also Zaghawa, which has led to tension among Deby’s people across the border.
– Widespread rape –
The mission interviewed 320 witnesses and victims from El-Fasher and the surrounding areas, including in investigative visits to Chad and South Sudan.
It authenticated, verified and corroborated 25 videos.
Survivors spoke of widespread killings, including indiscriminate shootings, and mass executions at exit points.
They described seeing roads filled with the bodies of men, women and children, the mission said.
The report also detailed detention, torture, humiliation, extortion, ransom and disappearances.
Widespread sexual violence targeted women and girls from non-Arab communities, particularly the Zaghawa, it added.
“Women and girls ranging from seven to 70 years old, including pregnant women, were subjected to rape.”
Many survivors reported being raped in front of their relatives, the report said, with sexual violence frequently accompanied by extreme physical brutality.
“In one case, a 12-year-old girl was raped by three RSF fighters in front of her mother, shortly after her father had been killed while trying to protect her. The girl later died from her injuries,” it said.
Rape was often committed in locations where mass killings had taken place, including at El-Saudi Hospital and at El-Fasher University.
“Witnesses recounted the RSF violently and publicly gang-raping at least 19 women in rooms filled with corpses, including the remains of their own husbands,” the report said.
– Impunity –
Concluding that the RSF had acted “with genocidal intent”, the mission found “at least three underlying acts of genocide were committed”.
These included killing members of a protected ethnic group and causing serious bodily or mental harm.
“The RSF acted with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Zaghawa and Fur communities in El-Fasher. These are the hallmarks of genocide,” said investigator Mona Rishmawi.
The mission said such levels of atrocity had been reached because the perpetrators acted with impunity.
Reacting to the report at the UN Security Council on Thursday, UN Under Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo said: “Strong action by the Security Council is more important than ever.”
Chairing the meeting, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “There’s page after page of the most distressing accounts imaginable. It is horrific.”
By AFP
February 19, 2026
The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people - Copyright AFP Daniel LEAL
Robin MILLARD
The United Nations’ independent fact-finding mission on Sudan said on Thursday the siege and capture of El-Fasher by a paramilitary group bore “the hallmarks of genocide”.
Its investigation concluded that the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) seizure of the city in Darfur state in October had inflicted “three days of absolute horror” and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
The mission warned that “urgent protection of civilians is needed, now more than ever” in neighbouring Kordofan state, the flashpoint of fighting since the RSF’s capture of El-Fasher, which was marked by ethnic massacres, sexual violence and detention.
“The scale, coordination and public endorsement of the operation by senior RSF leadership demonstrate that the crimes committed in and around El-Fasher were not random excesses of war,” said mission chairman Mohamad Chande Othman.
“They formed part of a planned and organised operation that bears the defining characteristics of genocide.”
Since April 2023, the conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary RSF has killed tens of thousands and forced 11 million people to flee their homes.
It has triggered what the UN says is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The UN Human Rights Council established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan in October 2023, to begin gathering evidence of violations.
Its investigation into the takeover of El-Fasher, following an 18-month siege, concluded that thousands of people, particularly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, “were killed, raped or disappeared”.
The Zaghawa is one of the area’s largest non-Arab ethnic groups.
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who has been widely accused of funnelling support to the RSF on behalf of their patrons, the United Arab Emirates, is also Zaghawa, which has led to tension among Deby’s people across the border.
– Widespread rape –
The mission interviewed 320 witnesses and victims from El-Fasher and the surrounding areas, including in investigative visits to Chad and South Sudan.
It authenticated, verified and corroborated 25 videos.
Survivors spoke of widespread killings, including indiscriminate shootings, and mass executions at exit points.
They described seeing roads filled with the bodies of men, women and children, the mission said.
The report also detailed detention, torture, humiliation, extortion, ransom and disappearances.
Widespread sexual violence targeted women and girls from non-Arab communities, particularly the Zaghawa, it added.
“Women and girls ranging from seven to 70 years old, including pregnant women, were subjected to rape.”
Many survivors reported being raped in front of their relatives, the report said, with sexual violence frequently accompanied by extreme physical brutality.
“In one case, a 12-year-old girl was raped by three RSF fighters in front of her mother, shortly after her father had been killed while trying to protect her. The girl later died from her injuries,” it said.
Rape was often committed in locations where mass killings had taken place, including at El-Saudi Hospital and at El-Fasher University.
“Witnesses recounted the RSF violently and publicly gang-raping at least 19 women in rooms filled with corpses, including the remains of their own husbands,” the report said.
– Impunity –
Concluding that the RSF had acted “with genocidal intent”, the mission found “at least three underlying acts of genocide were committed”.
These included killing members of a protected ethnic group and causing serious bodily or mental harm.
“The RSF acted with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Zaghawa and Fur communities in El-Fasher. These are the hallmarks of genocide,” said investigator Mona Rishmawi.
The mission said such levels of atrocity had been reached because the perpetrators acted with impunity.
Reacting to the report at the UN Security Council on Thursday, UN Under Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo said: “Strong action by the Security Council is more important than ever.”
Chairing the meeting, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “There’s page after page of the most distressing accounts imaginable. It is horrific.”
New research indicates how to combat the growing level of global hate
By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
DIGITAL JOURNAL
February 19, 2026
In Istanbul, protesters clashed with police who tried to prevent a demonstration
February 19, 2026
In Istanbul, protesters clashed with police who tried to prevent a demonstration
in solidarity with Kurds in northern Syria - Copyright AFP Yasin AKGUL
A global team of researchers, led by the University of St Andrews the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research (CIFAR), have produced a new World Bank Working Paper offering an integrative analysis of how collective hate develops and the strategies that can be used to counter it.
The researchers describe a self-reinforcing “cycle of hate” which produces division and conflict within societies, thereby threatening social welfare and economic development worldwide.
Drawing on evidence spanning psychology, economics, political science, sociology, and history, the team of international researchers show that hate is not an inevitable aspect of human nature. Rather it is systematically built, mobilised and justified across generations. Critically, by understanding how hate is built, we can identify the most effective ways of intervening to dismantle it and to restore social cohesion.
The research paper proposes four components in the cycle of hate: the use of history to identify certain groups as an ‘eternal enemy’; the structure of the current context, which positions certain groups as competitors and threats; the role of leaders and the media in creating a narrative of enmity; and the justification of hate as something inevitable and even desirable to defend ‘our values’.
When activated, this cycle leads to rising prejudice, discrimination, dehumanisation, and, in extreme cases, violence and conflict. The authors highlight that hate can unravel years of progress by eroding social trust, weakening institutions, and disrupting cooperation long before violence becomes visible.
“Intergroup hate is not an external shock,” note the authors in the paper. It is deeply intertwined with development trajectories,” For instance, economic policies that benefit some groups more than others, or institutional reforms that are perceived as unfair, can trigger or accelerate the cycle of hate. On the other hand, hatred can disrupt economic development, impede growth, and destroy human potential.
By identifying the key phases in the cycle of hate, the researchers highlight points where interventions will be most effective in disrupting that cycle. The paper provides a novel and comprehensive inventory of ways to challenge hatred.
These include: Designing school history textbooks to promote inclusive historical narratives and foster tolerance. Facilitating Intergroup contact and cooperation, such as mixed sports teams or collaborative workplaces, to reduce competition and threat. Promoting positive leadership and media narratives that frame a broader sense of “we-ness” amongst different groups and challenging disinformation that promotes threat beliefs. Humanisation and empathy-building between groups to highlight the human consequences of hate.
These are not simply alternatives. Multi-level interventions which work simultaneously at psychological, institutional, economic, and political levels hold the greatest promise for durable intergroup cooperation. Policies focused solely on growth or service delivery may unintentionally worsen intergroup tensions if they fail to account for identity boundaries, perceptions of unfairness, or local histories.
The researchers argue that social progress must be measured not only through economic indicators but also through the strength of social relationships across groups, and the degree to which societies remain inclusive, peaceful, and resilient.
Professor Reicher, who led the research, concludes: “Hatred is not something bred in the bone. It is made by humans in society and hence – if we understand how – it can equally be unmade. Even as we look around and see the rise of intolerance and polarisation across the globe, it is up to us to replace indifference and hatred with compassion and cooperation. Indeed, the health of our societies depends on us doing so. This paper is intended as a road map to help identify the best way to succeed in doing so.”
The paper, “The Cycle of Hate, and What We Can Do About It” is published as World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 11304 by the Development Research Group, Development Economics.
A global team of researchers, led by the University of St Andrews the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research (CIFAR), have produced a new World Bank Working Paper offering an integrative analysis of how collective hate develops and the strategies that can be used to counter it.
The researchers describe a self-reinforcing “cycle of hate” which produces division and conflict within societies, thereby threatening social welfare and economic development worldwide.
Drawing on evidence spanning psychology, economics, political science, sociology, and history, the team of international researchers show that hate is not an inevitable aspect of human nature. Rather it is systematically built, mobilised and justified across generations. Critically, by understanding how hate is built, we can identify the most effective ways of intervening to dismantle it and to restore social cohesion.
The research paper proposes four components in the cycle of hate: the use of history to identify certain groups as an ‘eternal enemy’; the structure of the current context, which positions certain groups as competitors and threats; the role of leaders and the media in creating a narrative of enmity; and the justification of hate as something inevitable and even desirable to defend ‘our values’.
When activated, this cycle leads to rising prejudice, discrimination, dehumanisation, and, in extreme cases, violence and conflict. The authors highlight that hate can unravel years of progress by eroding social trust, weakening institutions, and disrupting cooperation long before violence becomes visible.
“Intergroup hate is not an external shock,” note the authors in the paper. It is deeply intertwined with development trajectories,” For instance, economic policies that benefit some groups more than others, or institutional reforms that are perceived as unfair, can trigger or accelerate the cycle of hate. On the other hand, hatred can disrupt economic development, impede growth, and destroy human potential.
By identifying the key phases in the cycle of hate, the researchers highlight points where interventions will be most effective in disrupting that cycle. The paper provides a novel and comprehensive inventory of ways to challenge hatred.
These include: Designing school history textbooks to promote inclusive historical narratives and foster tolerance. Facilitating Intergroup contact and cooperation, such as mixed sports teams or collaborative workplaces, to reduce competition and threat. Promoting positive leadership and media narratives that frame a broader sense of “we-ness” amongst different groups and challenging disinformation that promotes threat beliefs. Humanisation and empathy-building between groups to highlight the human consequences of hate.
These are not simply alternatives. Multi-level interventions which work simultaneously at psychological, institutional, economic, and political levels hold the greatest promise for durable intergroup cooperation. Policies focused solely on growth or service delivery may unintentionally worsen intergroup tensions if they fail to account for identity boundaries, perceptions of unfairness, or local histories.
The researchers argue that social progress must be measured not only through economic indicators but also through the strength of social relationships across groups, and the degree to which societies remain inclusive, peaceful, and resilient.
Professor Reicher, who led the research, concludes: “Hatred is not something bred in the bone. It is made by humans in society and hence – if we understand how – it can equally be unmade. Even as we look around and see the rise of intolerance and polarisation across the globe, it is up to us to replace indifference and hatred with compassion and cooperation. Indeed, the health of our societies depends on us doing so. This paper is intended as a road map to help identify the best way to succeed in doing so.”
The paper, “The Cycle of Hate, and What We Can Do About It” is published as World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 11304 by the Development Research Group, Development Economics.
