UN Secretary-General Says Two-State Solution Is 'Being Ignored in Plain Sight'

Guterres speaks at the opening of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council. (Twitter/@UN_Spokesperson)

JAKARTA - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday highlighted "the flagrant violations of human rights, human dignity, and international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

Speaking at the opening of the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Secretary-General Guterres assessed the current direction of development in the conflict-ridden region under Israeli occupation as "clear, explicit, and deliberate: the two-state solution is being eliminated openly."

"The international community cannot allow that to happen," he said, launching Al Arabiya and AFP (23/2).

Guterres further said that human rights were "under relentless attack around the world," and warned that the most powerful parties often led the attacks.

"The rule of law is being defeated by the rule of violence," the UN Secretary-General said.

Opening of the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council. (Twitter/@UN_Spokesperson)

"This attack does not come from the shadows, or suddenly. It happens in front of our eyes and is often led by those who hold the greatest power," he said.

The UN secretary general did not address the specific situation, although he voiced his anger at Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, where he said more than 15,000 civilians have died in four years of violence.

"It's time to end the bloodshed," he said.

He said the areas most affected by the conflict were not the only places where human rights were eroded.

"Around the world, human rights are being pushed back deliberately, strategically, and sometimes proudly," he said.

"We live in a world where mass suffering is justified, where human beings are used as bargaining chips, where international law is treated as a mere inconvenience," he said.

Guterres speaks at the opening of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council. (Twitter/@UN_Spokesperson)

Guterres' secretary-general warned, "when human rights fall, everything will collapse."

The crisis of respect for human rights "reflects and magnifies every other global fracture," he said, pointing for example at how "humanitarian needs are exploding while funding collapses."

At the same time, "inequality is widening at an alarming rate (and) countries are drowning in debt and despair," he said.

And he pointed to how "climate chaos is accelerating, and technology, especially artificial intelligence, is being used more and more in ways that suppress rights, deepen inequalities, and expose marginalized people to new forms of discrimination both online and offline."

"In every line, those who are already vulnerable are pushed further to the fringes."

The UN chief called for urgent action to reverse the trend.

"We must defend our common foundation, without compromise," he said, stressing that "the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international human rights law instruments are not a menu of options."

"Leaders cannot pick and choose the parts they like and ignore the rest," he concluded.