UNITED NATIONS (AP) 鈥� faces a vote Friday for a second four-year term but is running into opposition from critics and some countries for his criticism of and his approach to .
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres quietly nominated the Austrian lawyer for a second term. After private consultations but no public discussion, the 193-member General Assembly scheduled a vote on his reappointment for Friday afternoon.
Former head of Human Rights Watch Ken Roth called it 鈥渁 stealth procedure鈥� to avoid scrutiny by civil society and the public.
The job of the U.N. rights chief, by its nature, is tricky: It requires speaking out against rights violations by the governments of the countries that make up the membership of the world body. For instance, T眉rk has sharply criticized .
Some suggest an extension for T眉rk until the end of the year
T眉rk’s term expires on Oct. 11, and Russia鈥檚 U.N. Mission said it has proposed extending his term just until Dec. 31 鈥� the day Guterres鈥� second five-year term as secretary-general ends.
Russia called Guterres鈥� effort to give T眉rk four more years as 鈥渦nprecedented.鈥� None of his predecessors have served two full terms since the job was created in 1993.
An extension just until the end of the year would leave the choice of a new human rights chief to the next secretary-general. Six candidates are .
Guterres sent letters to regional groups at the United Nations earlier this month informing them of his intention to reappoint T眉rk. The African group had no objection, but the Latin American countries had several, including Nicaragua, Argentina and Paraguay.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called Guterres’ action to get a second term for T眉rk the U.N. secretary-general’s 鈥渓atest moral failure,鈥� saying on social media that the choice should be left to his successor.
鈥淎fter years of bias against Israel, the answer is accountability 鈥� not rewriting the rules,鈥� the ministry said.
Guterres is 鈥榝ollowing the rules鈥� on the reappointment, UN says
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, says Guterres is following the 1993 resolution that established a U.N. high commissioner for human rights and allows for a second term.
鈥淭he secretary-general is doing things in a very transparent manner, following the rules and his authority,鈥� Dujarric told reporters Friday. 鈥淐onsultations were had with member states prior to this and with regional groups.鈥�
T眉rk 鈥渋s ready to serve鈥� a new term, rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said. She noted the job calls for the 鈥減romotion and protection of human rights everywhere, and as a part of this, he sees it as his role to engage with all states.鈥�
As human rights chief, the longtime U.N. functionary who worked for Guterres at United Nations headquarters in New York, T眉rk has expressed concerns on issues in China as diverse as the fate of detained individuals 鈥� like artist Gao Zhen, lawyer Yu Wensheng and 鈥� and counterterrorism and assimilation practices that affect in the regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibet.
Critics insist he could have done more to publicly follow up on a report issued by his predecessor, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, that said China鈥檚 discriminatory and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang .
T眉rk also has stopped short of joining independent U.N. rights experts who have against Palestinians during its in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies those claims.
Critic focuses on approach to China’s treatment of Uyghurs
Roth called T眉rk 鈥渁 disaster鈥� and said 鈥渢he biggest stain on Turk鈥檚 reputation is his utter abandonment of the Uyghurs.鈥� He called them victims of the most severe state persecution that T眉rk has ignored.
The Chinese government denies the Uyghurs have been or are being persecuted. It maintains its policies in Xinjiang rooted out terrorism and religious extremism after sporadic bouts of violence rocked the region in previous decades.
T眉rk has used both private engagement with Beijing and public advocacy to support human rights in China, his office said. Roth called that 鈥渁n admission that he is doing nothing, that he鈥檚 putting the plight of the Uyghurs on the deep back burner, and is just pretending to care.鈥�
Roth said T眉rk has a major problem because the job of U.N. human rights commissioner 鈥渟hould be about stirring up public pressure, and you do that by being tough, provocative, timely.鈥�
He 鈥渉as succeeded in making a powerful position largely innocuous,鈥� talking about issues in a way 鈥渢hat makes people鈥檚 eyes glaze over,鈥� Roth said.
___
Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
