At the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, IADL, together with CETIM, Emmaus International, and FIAN International, raised the alarm on escalating attacks against international law and growing threats to multilateralism.
We are witnessing increasing political pressure, financial coercion, the creation of parallel structures, and attempts to undermine the independence of UN human rights mechanisms. These developments compromise the credibility, impartiality, and universality of the multilateral system.
For several years, the United States of America has engaged in acts of sabotage and coercion against multilateral institutions. The withdrawal from or marginalization of key United Nations bodies and mechanisms, the deliberate non-payment of assessed contributions, and political pressure exerted on other States to align themselves with these maneuvers have caused serious disruptions to the functioning of the United Nations system, while undermining its independence.
Moreover, retaliatory measures taken by the U.S. government against certain UN mechanisms – notably against Ms. Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967 – constitute a direct attack on the independence of UN Special Procedures and a clear intimidation tactic, undermining the integrity of the Human Rights Council.
As host country of the United Nations, the United States has systematically abused its privileged position by arbitrarily restricting access for accredited States, social movements, and civil society representatives, in violation of its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement. These violations — including arbitrary visa denials, restrictions on movement, and intimidation — obstruct the safe, equal, and and non-discriminatory participation of all relevant stakeholders in UN processes, undermining the universal character of the Organization. De facto, access to the United Nations in New York is subject to the broad discretionary power of the U.S. government.
Given these circumstances, IADL and partner NGOs call for an urgent, transparent, and inclusive discussion on the provisional relocation of the Seat of the United Nations General Assembly from New York to Geneva, in order to ensure the full and effective participation of all Member States and civil society representatives in the work of the Organization.
We also call on the High Commissioner to clarify what concrete steps he intends to take, within his mandate and in coordination with the Secretary-General, to ensure safe and equal access to the United Nations and prevent further intimidation of participating States, human rights defenders and mandate holders.
Decisive leadership in defense of international law and of a genuinely inclusive multilateral system is more important than ever. At this critical juncture, defending a democratic, people-centered multilateralism rooted in sovereignty, self-determination and social justice is not optional — it is necessary to restore trust in the United Nations and preserve international peace and security.
Read the full statement here: https://iadllaw.org/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/HRC61.pdf
See the video of the oral statement delivered by Melik Özden, CETIM Director (minute 23:00):
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1t/k1t5s7yx31?kalturaStartTime=1376
See also the written statements submitted to the 61st Human Rights Council session:
https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g26/016/88/pdf/g2601688.pdf