UN Official: ‘Stop Dehumanizing Migrants’ After South Africa Attacks

The United Nations’ top human rights official has urged people to see migrants as fellow human beings, following a wave of anti-foreigner violence in South Africa. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the appeal in a recent interview. He argued that major global problems—including migration, climate change, and legal disputes—are not separate issues. Instead, he said they are all connected by a deeper crisis of solidarity and political responsibility. Türk called on communities to stop dehumanizing others. “See in the other a human being,” he said. His comments come as tensions over migration rise in several countries. The official stressed that human rights must be the central framework for understanding these challenges. He warned that treating migrants as outsiders only makes the problems worse.