THE world is becoming less safe by the day, United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned today as he called for greater respect for human rights and peace across the globe.

Speaking as the UN’s human rights council began its latest session, Mr Guterres said that combatants in places such as Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine and Sudan are turning a “blind eye” to international law.

“Our world is changing at warp speed,” he told the council.

“The multiplication of conflicts is causing unprecedented suffering. But human rights are a constant.”

The UN chief said that attacks on human rights take many forms and reiterated his frequent calls for debt relief for some of the world’s poorest countries as well as greater spending to fight climate change.

He defended UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees, as the “backbone” of aid efforts in Gaza at a time when top Israeli authorities have called for its dismantling and Western powers including Britain have cut off funds.

The UN human rights chief, Volker Tuerk, also lashed out at “attempts to undermine the legitimacy and work” of the UN and its affiliates.

He said: “The UN has become a lightning rod for manipulative propaganda and a scapegoat for policy failures.

“This is profoundly destructive of the common good, and it callously betrays the many people whose lives rely on it.”

The council was kicking off a six-week session on Monday as human rights crises abound.

Topics of discussion were also expected to include the death this month of opposition leader Alexei Navalny while held in prison in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia, a permanent UN security council member.