Geneva [Switzerland], March 4: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern about the growing power of IT entrepreneurs on Monday and pointed to a power shift in the world.
"A handful of unelected tech oligarchs have our data," Türk said told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
He warned that any form of unregulated power could lead to oppression, subjugation and even tyranny, adding that it was "the playbook of the autocrat," during a speech on the global human rights situation.
The Austrian UN diplomat did not mention controversial entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg by name. Musk was US President Donald Trump's largest donor during Trump's election campaign and the tech billionaire has been given extensive powers by Trump to cut government spending. But Türk criticized US policy under Trump, saying he was "deeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction" domestically and abroad.
Measures against discrimination are now being portrayed as discriminatory, there are setbacks in gender equality, and journalists and public officials are being intimidated and threatened, Türk said.
Without explicitly naming the United States, Türk criticized the abandonment of international institutions and treaties such as the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as the massive cuts in development aid. Trump has signed a decree to withdraw the United States from the UN Human Rights Council.
Source: Qatar Tribune
