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UN approves new rights chief

June 17, 2014

The UN General Assembly has unanimously approved the nomination of Jordan's Prince Zeid al Hussein to be the organization's next human rights chief. Zeid becomes the first Muslim and Arab to hold the role.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CJYO
Jordan's ambassador to the United Nationas, Prince Zeid al Hussein, speaks to the media during a news conference in New York. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday, June 6, 2014, he will appoint Prince Zeid as the new high commissioner for human rights, bringing to that post a voice from the Middle East at a time when such rights are under strain in some countries in the region. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

The General Assembly on Monday confirmed that Zeid, who is currently Jordan's ambassador to the UN, would take over as High Commissioner for Human Rights from September 1.

Zeid was appointed for a four-year term, replacing the incumbent Navi Pillay, who has served in the job for the past six years.

There was a round of applause from the 193-member world body as the assembly's president, John Ashe, banged his gavel to approve consensus of the nomination.

"I am going to be the first high commissioner from the Asian continent and from the Muslim and Arab worlds," the prince said. "This reflects the commitment of the international community towards this important dossier, and this important commitment to push it forward."

Zeid thanked South Africa's Pillay "for her courageous endeavors" and pledged "to build on her noteworthy achievements."

The prince spent five years serving in the Jordanian desert police, before joining the UN protection force in the former Yugoslavia from 1994 to 1996. He has been ambassador to the UN twice, as well as serving as Amman's ambassador to the US.

The 50-year-old is said to be a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court (ICC), having served as president of the court's Assembly of States Parties, and has spoken out often against sexual violence.

The prince is also said to have shown an interest in addressing the "horrific abuses" carried out in more than three years of civil war in Syria.

Zeid was also on of the candidates up for election when current UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was selected for the job.

rc/hc (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)