UN News Today 23 February 2026 |

Human Rights Council must resist geopolitical pressures: Guterres

The UN Human Rights Council met on Monday against a backdrop of geopolitical instability that must be resisted, the Secretary-General said. 

In his last speech to the Geneva-based body before he leaves office in December, UN chief António Guterres highlighted war and conflict in Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond.

“The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force,” he said:

“Human rights are not West or East, North or South. They are not a luxury, they are not negotiable. They are the foundation of a more peaceful and secure world. And States are bound by their obligations under the Charter and international law.”

On Ukraine, specifically, the UN chief noted that Tuesday 24 February will be the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, which has killed more than 15,000 civilians. 

“It is more than past time to end the bloodshed”, he insisted, while UN human rights chief Volker Türk called for rights and justice to be the focus of any ceasefire or peace agreement.

South Sudan: Civilians must never be a target, insists UN aid chief 

To South Sudan, where the UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher, has repeated his alarm at the deteriorating humanitarian situation there.

Concerns have been growing for the country’s people amid heightened violence that included the killing of three aid workers earlier this month in Jonglei and Upper Nile states.

Fighting has been reported in both of those northeastern states between government forces and those loyal to Vice-President Riek Machar, who is on trial for treason and remains under house arrest.

In an online message from Jonglei tate, Mr. Fletcher reported meeting doctors working round the clock to treat people injured in clashes. Some had gunshot wounds including an 18-month-old child and a grandmother of 70.

“Civilians should never be a target,” the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator insisted.

Latest updates from Mr. Fletcher’s office indicate that large numbers of people continue to flee central and northern Jonglei state, since fighting resumed between the two groups on 29 December 2025.

Hearing for former Philippines leader Duterte at ICC

To the Hague, where the UN-backed International Criminal Court on Monday began discussions about whether there is sufficient evidence against ex-Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to try him for killings linked to his alleged role in the war on drugs.

The pre-trial hearing into potential crimes against humanity is scheduled to end on Thursday. Mr. Duterte, who is 80 and in ICC custody, was not present in court. 

He denies charges of murder and attempted murder, allegedly committed between November 2011 and March 2019 during his proclaimed “war on drugs” campaign. 

Here’s legal counsel for the victims, Joel Butuyan now:

“Even after their loved ones were murdered, many families were subjected to deplorable injustices. Instead of gunshot wounds as cause of death in their death certificates, families were shocked to see pneumonia, heart attack, stroke, sepsis and other false causes of death that were instead written down.”

According to the arrest warrant issued by the international court, Mr. Duterte allegedly founded and headed the Davao Death Squad. He faces three charges including killings by the death squad and others during so-called “clearance operations” of alleged drug dealers.

If the charges are confirmed this week, the case will be transferred to the Trial Chamber at the International Criminal Court. 

It was created in 2002 by the Rome Statute to bring cases against individuals for war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Daniel Johnson, UN News