Vote of the UN General Assembly to reappoint Volker Türk as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Exercising his right to nominate and extend tenures, UN Secretary-General António Guterres—who is set to step down from office at the end of December—asked the UN General Assembly on July 17, 2026, „to renew the appointment of Mr. Türk as High Commissioner (for Human Rights)  for a period of four years, beginning on 12 October 2026 and expiring on 11 October 2030“ on 17 July (A/80/797). On 24 July 2026, the UN General Assembly decided with a majority of 144 votes in favour, 10 against, 13 abstentions and 26 states absent to extend the mandate of the Volker Türk (Austria) as head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). It is the first time for a High Commissioner since the creation of the post in 1993 to serve two full terms. Former Commissioners were either granted none or only shorter extensions of one (Mary Robinson) or two years (Navi Pillay). Opposition to the extension came from: Argentina, Burkina Faso, North Korea, Israel, Mali, Nicaragua, Niger, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA. The USA had originally asked to postpone the  vote for another week. Otherwise, it threatened „to (…) immediately reassess (its) engagement, participation, and funding.“ The US who has already left the UN Human Rights Council for the second time also criticised Türk for „lecturing free, sovereign democracies like the United States.“  The proposal was rejected by a simple majority of 63 states against, 27 in favour and 47 abstaining. The Russian Federation then proposed to extend the mandate only until the end of 2026 arguing that the new Secretary General should take the decision on this important post. This proposal was rejected by a majority of 71 states voting against, 19 in favour and 52 abstaining.