Colossal human rights abuses are happening all over the world and “too many states” are backing out of their obligations to protect people, the UN’s top rights official said Monday.

At the start of a new Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein said it was time to “reset” a general reluctance to name and shame governments responsible for terrible abuses.

The rights chief also said that the Syria conflict remains a “defining test” for the international community and urged neighbouring states to end the “living nightmare” caused by more than four years of war.

Here’s Daniel Johnson’s report from Geneva.

Duration: 3'00"