100 million people worldwide forced to flee their homes due to conflicts last year - UN Secretary General

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shared the information on January 27 at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Extreme poverty and hunger are on the rise for the first time in decades. About half of the world’s population, 3.5 billion people, live in the hottest spots on Earth due to climate change," Guterres listed the global problems of humanity.

"One hundred million people have been forced to flee their countries due to violence, conflict and human rights abuses. Anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, persecution of Christians, racism and white supremacist ideology is gaining momentum," he added.

UN Secretary General Guterres also noted that the number of media workers killed worldwide has increased by 50% over the past year.

Emphasizing the need to pay attention to the lessons learned from history, the UN Secretary-General said that "We must protect and advance the global consensus around the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and move into a new era of human rights for all."

• UN Secretary General Guterres said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused "the most massive human rights violations."