U.N. General Assembly Approves Chile's Bachelet as Human Rights Chief

Caption: Michelle Bachelet Photo: Prensa Latina

United Nations_ Chilean diplomat Michelle Bachelet, who was twice president of that country, was appointed today as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prensa Latina reports.

The General Assembly plenary approved the proposal of UN Secretary General António Guterres, who announced this decision last Wednesday.

A communiqué issued by the spokesperson's office of the international organization explained that after consultations with the presidents of the regional groups of member States, Guterres informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint Bachelet.

She served as President of Chile (2006-2010 and 2014-2018) and was appointed in 2010 as the first Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

She had also been the head of Health (2000-2002) in her country and the Prime Minister of Defense of Chile and Latin America (2002-2004).

At the end of this month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, comes to the end of his mandate and decided he would not opt for a second.

The former Chilean president will replace the Jordanian diplomat and will assume the post for a period of four years, starting on September 1.

Bachelet, who completed her second term as president of Chile last March, has promoted gender equality and women's empowerment throughout her political career and as the nation's first female president.

Since assuming his post, the current UN Secretary General has sought to achieve gender parity in the multilateral body and to promote the empowerment of women.

As part of this effort, he appointed more women representatives to senior positions and advocates for the greater inclusion of women in peace processes, among others.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is the principal official on this issue in the multilateral organization.

Its office, headquartered in Geneva, is mandated to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization, for all persons, of the rights set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and in international laws and treaties.