UN rights chief Turk wins second term despite US and Israeli opposition

Austrian lawyer Volker Turk set to become first UN rights chief to complete two four-year terms since post was created.Volkur Turk, the outspoken United Nations human rights chief who has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza and across the wider region, has won a vote to serve a second term in his role.UN member states voted 144-10, with 13 abstentions, on Friday to keep Turk in his post as UN human rights chief. His term was set to expire on October 11, but he will now serve for an additional four years.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UN rights chief calls for probe into migrant deaths in US detention centreslist 2 of 3UN discusses prevention of genocide: Six times it failed to do just thatlist 3 of 3UN rights chief condemns Nicaragua’s decision to abolish electionsend of listIf he finishes his second term, he will be the first UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to do so since the post was created in 1993. The United States, Israel, Russia, North Korea and six others opposed his re-election.Turk said he was “deeply grateful” to be re-elected.“Human rights are the antidote to today’s turbulence and defeatism. I will give my all for the rights of everyone, everywhere,” he wrote in a social media post.The rights chief has angered many in Israel by criticising the country’s genocidal war on Gaza, its attacks on Lebanon, and the “shameful” lack of accountability for rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territory.A lawyer by training, Turk has spent almost his career working in the UN, including posts in the UNHCR, the UN’s dedicated body for refugees.He has repeatedly urged Israel to comply with international humanitarian law, and said the state is accountable for any violations of human rights that it commits.The European Union’s delegation at the UN welcomed Turk’s reappointment, saying it looks forward to working with his office to “promote and protect human rights worldwide”.