[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein [official website] said Monday that states must rededicate themselves to unalienable human rights [press release]. The commissioner made his statement at the opening of the 28th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Zeid stated “we must therefore renew, by the strongest action, our dedication to the reality of inalienable and universal human rights, to end discrimination, deprivation, and the seemingly inexhaustible litany of conflicts and crises that generate such terrible and needless suffering.” He said he was particularly dissatisfied with how member states were treating the council’s independent experts. He said that member states must focus on the substance of the complaint and not the critics themselves. Zeid also said that the council’s biggest tool is the ability of “massive instruction.” He said that this weapon can only work if states take and implement the councils recommendations. One of his final remarks was about measuring government worth stating that states need to focus on the needs and rights of its people, and to how well they do that is the measure of the government’s worth.

Human rights continue to be an important issue across the globe. Earlier Monday the commissioner reported [JURIST report] that more than 6,000 people have died in the Ukraine conflict. Last month the UN reported widespread human rights abuses in Myanmar and the increasing [JURIST reports] number of deaths in Iraq resulting from the Islamic State.