U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres says human rights are being “suffocated” around the world. He lashed out at voices of division and anger who see human rights as a barrier to their quest for power and profit.

Warmongers and authoritarians are “suffocating” human rights across the world, the chief of the United Nations has warned. Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres depicted a world where human rights were “on the ropes and being pummelled hard”.

"The global consensus on human rights is crumbling under the weight of authoritarians, strongmen and oligarchs," United Nations High Commissioner Volker Turk told a high-level meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.