The United Nations leader warned on Monday that “the rule of force” was spreading, as the powerful trample on international law and wield artificial intelligence and other technologies to attack human rights.
“Human rights are under a full-scale attack around the world,” Antonio Guterres told the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s annual session in Geneva. “The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force.” The UN secretary-general stressed that “this assault is not coming from the shadows, or by surprise. It is happening in plain sight – and often led by those who hold the greatest power”.