Human Rights Council Meets In Geneva Amid Budget Crisis

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) The UN's main human rights body has begun its final session of the year in Geneva against the backdrop of a budget crisis and rising geopolitical tensions. This content was published on September 9, 2025 - 09:56 6 minutes

Based in Geneva, I cover the work of the United Nations and other international organisations there. My focus is on humanitarian aid, human rights, and peace diplomacy. I studied business and economics at the University of Lausanne before training as a journalist and joining SWI swissinfo in 2021.

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The Human Rights Council (HRC) began its last session of the year on Monday in Geneva. Until October 8, the 47 member states of the UN's main body for the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide will review a long list of countries and issues demanding their attention.

The session takes place in a tense geopolitical context and is once again marked by the wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Added to this are the UN's financial difficulties, as well as various proposed reforms which affect – and which will continue to affect – the council's work.

“We will cover the entire agenda, but more efficiently and quickly,” said Swiss Ambassador Jürg Lauber, who is presiding over the HRC this year, at a press conference. As during the previous session in June, speaking time and the number of delegations allowed to take the floor will be reduced to save time and costs, Lauber added.

Liquidity crisis

By the start of September, only 124 of the UN's 193 member states had fully paid their annual contributions to the organisation's regular budget. Neither the US nor China – the biggest and second biggest donors, respectively – are among them, and some fear that Washington may simply fail to pay its share.

As elsewhere in the UN, where expenditures are expected to be cut by around 20%, the HRC must also make savings. This affects both the organisation of its sessions and the implementation of what it decides. A fact-finding mission on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, approved earlier this year, has not yet been launched due to a lack of funding.

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Asked about the impact of the cuts, Lauber said he had“mixed feelings.” While he welcomed efforts by delegations to“improve the council's efficiency,” he stressed that“measures restricting access to the council go against what [he] likes to see – more diplomacy.” He added that“the number of the council's activities and mandates has continued to increase, but there is a reason for this: the state of human rights in the world demands it.”

Faced with budgetary difficulties, UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched a major reform initiative in March called UN80. Among other things, it envisages relocating positions currently based in Geneva and New York and merging agencies with similar mandates. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which supports the council's work, is affected by these reforms, but the impact on the council itself remains unclear. Some states fear that the urgency of these reforms will not allow for genuine strategic reflection on long-term changes needed.

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