[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein [official website] on Thursday urged [press release] UN member states to remain focused on human rights in their “struggle against violent extremism.” Zeid noted that the world is at a “turning point,” and that the “fight against terror is a struggle to uphold values of … human rights—not undermine them.” He also agreed with former US president George W Bush’s sentiment that Guantanamo Bay became a “propaganda tool for… enemies” in support of his contention that torture, disregard of due process and the use of collective punishment “do not make the world any safer.” Zeid addressed other issues in his statement as well, noting that economic and social rights (i.e. freedom of expression) and issues such as poverty, migration and climate change need to be given more attention.

Human rights continue to be an important issue across the globe. Earlier this week the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that more than 6,000 people have died in the Ukraine conflict [JURIST report]. 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. Earlier last month human rights experts from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged [JURIST report] Spanish authorities to reject two suggested legal reformations that they say may disrupt freedom and fundamental human rights.