Violence against women has become a "global emergency", the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned on Friday.
Speaking at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Türk said around 50,000 women and girls were killed worldwide in 2024, most of them by family members.
"Violence against women, including femicide, constitutes a global emergency," he said in his address on the state of human rights worldwide.
He singled out Afghanistan, arguing that the system imposed on women there "recalls apartheid, based on sex rather than race".
Türk also referred to two cases that have generated international shockwaves: that of convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the case of Gisèle Pelicot in France, who was subjected to repeated rapes organised by her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, involving dozens of men.
These cases, he said, "illustrate the scale of exploitation and abuse committed against women and girls".
"Do we really believe there are not many other men like Dominique Pelicot or Jeffrey Epstein?" Türk asked.
He argued that such crimes are enabled by social systems that silence women and girls while shielding powerful men from accountability.
"States must investigate all alleged crimes, protect victims and guarantee impartial justice," he said, adding that he was also concerned about a rise in attacks against women in public life, particularly online.
