Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. The office was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 1993 in the wake of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies aux droits de l'homme (French)
AbbreviationOHCHR
HCDH
Formation20 December 1993
TypeAgency
Legal statusActive
HeadquartersGeneva, Switzerland
New York City, United States
Head
Volker Türk, High Commissioner for Human Rights
Websitewww.ohchr.org

The office is headed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who co-ordinates human rights activities throughout the United Nations System and acts as the secretariat of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. The eighth and current High Commissioner is Volker Türk of Austria, who succeeded Michelle Bachelet of Chile on 8 September 2022.

In 2018–2019, the department had a budget of US$201.6 million (3.7 per cent of the United Nations regular budget), and approximately 1,300 employees based in Geneva and New York City. It is an ex officio member of the Committee of the United Nations Development Group.

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