UN rights chief highlights peace, security in human rights protection

GENEVA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Tuesday highlighted the importance of peace and security in the protection and promotion of human rights, saying that all measures should ultimately contribute to preventing tensions and conflict.

"We are here to rebuild a foundation of hope, hope that we need now more than ever," Turk said at an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Calling human rights a global public good, he said that every individual has the right to live in peace, and urged world leaders to contribute to "a deep reflection of how we can move human rights back to the center of decision-making, to prevent the scourge of war."

The two-day event closing on Tuesday was co-hosted by the UN Human Rights Office and the government of Switzerland.

Turk said, "It is our turn now to take on this profound and visionary task of ensuring that human rights become both the overarching goal and the guardrails, and that we strive for solutions to the most pressing challenges of our time."