Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet next UNHRC Head
UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) High Commissioner (HC) Prince Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, who presided over the Council's resolution on a 'War Crimes' probe against Sri Lanka, is to be replaced by former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet who was the first woman President of her country.
After a vote on Friday by the UN General Assembly in New York, Ms Bachelet, was officially elected HC for Human Rights, UN News reported. She will now preside over the Sri Lanka Resolution 30/1 in Geneva.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed Ms Bachelet as a pioneer who “has been as formidable a figure in her native Chile, as she has at the UN. She was the first woman to serve as Chile’s President and also survived brutality by authorities targeting her and her family," he said.
Following the announcement, Ms Bachelet, 66, said she was "deeply humbled and honored" to have been entrusted with "this important task”, UN News said. She was imprisoned and tortured during Chile’s rightwing dictatorship and, years later, became a paediatrician and politician, the New York Times said.
Her predecessor, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who took on the role in September 2014 and, who Mr Guterres described as having served with “leadership, passion, courage and skill” for the past 4 years, also warmly welcomed her appointment.
The UN Chief paid special tribute to Zeid, who is stepping down after one term as the key UN voice on global Human Rights, at the end of this month. Michelle Bachelet will be the 7th HC since the office was created in 1993. The New York Times said Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, a Jordanian prince and longtime diplomat, became one of the most forthright critics of abuses by governments in many countries, including the United States, during his 4 years as the HC for Human Rights.
Mr al-Hussein said in December he would not be seeking an extension of his term, which expires next month. He told colleagues that “to do so, in the current geopolitical context, might involve bending a knee in supplication.” He had an open clash with US President Donald Trump and eventually, the US pulled out of the UNHRC, saying it was a "politically biased" UN agency. It was the US that was instrumental in steering the Resolution against Sri Lanka, soon after the defeat of the LTTE.