UNITED NATIONS, August 10. /TASS/. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has approved former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s appointment as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the decision was made by consensus without a vote.

Bachelet will take office on September 1 and may be re-elected after her four-year term expires. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres nominated Bachelet to this position on Wednesday.</s>UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations General Assembly approved on Friday the appointment of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as the world body’s new human rights chief.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Bachelet on Wednesday. She will replace Jordan’s Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, who is stepping down at the end of the month after a four-year term in the Geneva-based job.

Bachelet, who was tortured under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, was the first woman to be president of Chile, one of the region’s most developed economies.

A former paediatrician, Bachelet first served as president from 2006 to 2010, and was popular for her government’s welfare policies and steady economic growth during her tenure.

Bachelet then led UN Women, which supports gender equality and the empowerment of women, between 2010 and 2013. She returned to Chile and served again as president from 2014 to March this year, pushing for a more radical tax-and-spend agenda, as well as for gay marriage and abortion rights in the socially conservative country.

Zeid told reporters in New York earlier this month that he did not seek a second term because he did not believe key world powers, including the United States, China and Russia, would support him.

Zeid has been strongly critical of some of US President Donald Trump’s policies and his attacks on the media.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in a statement on Wednesday that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights can have a “strong voice” on critical issues.

“The UN has failed to adequately address major human rights crises in Iran, North Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and elsewhere, or stop its chronic, disproportionate obsession with Israel. It is up to Ms Bachelet to speak out against these failures rather than accept the status quo,” Haley said.

The United States withdrew in June from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, which is separate from the High Commissioner for Human Rights office but works closely with it, over what it called chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform.</s>United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday nominated Chile's twice-serving president and prominent women's rights advocate Michelle Bachelet to be the global body's next human rights chief.

Bachelet, 66, will succeed Jordanian diplomat Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, who had been one of the most outspoken critics of abuses by the governments in many countries.

Following consultations with the Chairs of the regional groups of Member States, Guterres informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint Bachelet as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her name now goes forward for consideration and approval by the 193-member UN General Assembly.

Bachelet, a women's rights champion, ended her second four-year term as President earlier this year, having already held the post between 2006 and 2010. She was the first woman to be elected to Chile's highest office. After her first term, she came to New York as the first-ever Executive Director of the UN gender equality office, UN-Women. She also held ministerial portfolios in the Chilean Government as Minister of Defence (2002-2004) and Minister of Health (2000-2002).

The UN Human Rights High Commissioner is the principle official who speaks out for human rights across the whole UN system, strengthening human rights mechanisms; enhancing equality; fighting discrimination in all its forms; strengthening accountability and the rule of law; widening the democratic space and protecting the most vulnerable from all forms of human rights abuses.

Al-Hussein will step down from his role at the end of this month. He served a single term, beginning in 2014. During his tenure, al-hussein had been outspoken in his criticism of abuses in dozens of countries from Myanmar and Hungary to the US. At a farewell news conference at UN headquarters this month, he had said he does not regret speaking out against human rights abuses as "silence does not earn you any respect — none."

In June, he released the first-ever report on Kashmir in which he called for a commission of inquiry by the Human Rights Council to conduct an independent, international investigation into the human rights situation. India had rejected that report, terming it as "fallacious, tendentious and motivated" and a selective compilation of largely unverified information.

In a strong reaction, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said the report is "overtly prejudiced", seeks to build a "false narrative" and violates the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Headquartered in Geneva, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is mandated to promote and protect the universal exercise and full realisation of human rights across the world as established in the UN Charter.

Bachelet's nomination received cautious reactions from diplomats and human rights organisations. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the US had withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council in part because of the Council's consistent failure to address extreme human rights abuses in the Western Hemisphere, in Venezuela and Cuba in particular.

"The failures of the Human Rights Council make the Secretary-General's selection of a new High Commissioner for Human Rights all the more important," she said.

 Haley said that the Human Rights Commissioner can have a strong voice on these critical issues, even when the Human Rights Council fails to live up to its name. It is incumbent on the Secretary-General's choice, Bachelet, to avoid the failures of the past.

"The UN has failed to adequately address major human rights crises in Iran, North Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere, or stop its chronic, disproportionate obsession with Israel. It is up to Ms Bachelet to speak out against these failures rather than accept the status quo. We hope that she does. The United States will," she said.

Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth said that if selected, Bachelet will be taking on one of the world's most difficult jobs at a moment when human rights are under widespread attack. "As a victim herself, she brings a unique perspective to the role on the importance of a vigorous defence of human rights. People worldwide will depend on her to be a public and forceful champion, especially where offenders are powerful," he said.

The Trump administration withdrew from the Human Rights Council in June. Haley had called the Council a "cesspool of political bias" that disproportionately takes aim at Israel and protects many rights abusers. Al-Hussein's office had also criticised the White House over the separation of young children from parents at the country's borders amid a government crackdown on illegal immigration.

He had cited remarks by president of the American Association of Pediatrics that locking the children up separately from their parents constituted "government-sanctioned child abuse."</s>The United Nations General Assembly on Friday unanimously confirmed the appointment of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as the organizations next human rights chief.

Bachelet, who was appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, will take over from Jordan's Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, who is stepping down as the UN high commissioner for human rights at the end of the month after a four-year term.

"She takes office at a time of grave consequence for human rights," Guterres told reporters moments after Bachelet's appointment was approved. He said "hatred and inequality are on the rise" in the world.

Bachelet, who was tortured under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, was Chile's first female president.

A fierce advocate for women's rights, Bachelet was the first head of UN Women, the UN agency to promote gender equality and empowerment of women.

Zeid, the outgoing human rights chief, welcomed Bachelet's appointment and praised her "deep commitment to human rights."

In his role, Zeid has been an outspoken critic of US President Donald Trump's policies and his attacks on the media.

He told reporters earlier this month that he did not seek a second term because he did not believe key world powers, including the United States, China and Russia, would support him.

Washington has been critical of the UN for unfairly targeting the Israeli government.

"The UN has failed to adequately address major human rights crises in Iran, North Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and elsewhere, or stop its chronic, disproportionate obsession with Israel," US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It is up to Ms. Bachelet to speak out against these failures rather than accept the status quo," Haley said.

In June, the United States withdrew from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, a separate body that works closely with the High Commissioner for Human Rights office, citing a bias against Israel and a lack of reform.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>United Nations, Aug 10 (IANS) In a unanimous vote full of symbolism, the UN General Assembly on Friday approved the appointment of a victim of human rights abuses, Michelle Bachelet, as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The former President of Chile will succeed Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, whose stormy four-year term ends this month.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who had nominated her, told reporters after Assembly's approval by acclamation: "At home she has known the heights and depths as the first woman to serve as the President and also as a survivor of brutality by authorities targeting her and her family."

She enters the office in the 70th year of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights having lived under the "darkness of dictatorship" and now facing several challenges, he said.

Bachelet, who finished a second term as president on Chile in March, had been detained by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in 1973 and tortured while her father died in custody after torture by the military junta.

A medical doctor, she also has done advanced studies in defence in the United States and served as health and defence minister -- unique qualifications for a human rights chief who must confront military organisations involved in human rights violations that inflict physical and mental harm.

Guterres said that as a physician she has seen first hand the "thirsting for health and yearning to enjoy vital economic and social rights."

Guterres and delegates who spoke at the Assembly session noted that between her two presidential terms, Bachelet served as the founding executive director of UN Women, the office for promoting gender equality and women's empowerment.

The delegate of the Solomon Islands, who spoke on behalf of the Asian and Pacific nations, said that she has a record of championing the rights of women and added that she would be a strong leader for promoting world peace and human rights world-wide.

While Guterres and other speakers talked of the challenges before the human rights agenda because of conflicts, threats to press freedom, erosion of the role of civil society organisations, and rise in hatred and animosity between various groups, Bachelet faces the more immediate task of reestablishing the credibility of her office and of the UN Human Rights Council, which has come under attack during Zeid's stormy tenure.

India had accused Zeid of being biased after he had issued a report on human rights violations in Kashmir and called for a Council investigation.

India slammed the report with Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal asserting it reflected "the clear bias of an official who was acting without any mandate whatsoever and relied on unverified sources of information."

The US pulled out of the Human Rights Council in June, while Permanent Representative Nikki Haley called it a "hypocritical and self-serving organisation that makes a mockery of human rights."

The challenges were on display at the Assembly session soon after she won its approval.

The US delegate said the credibility of the human rights office and the council were at stake asserting that it had failed to act on abuses in Cuba and Venezuela.

The delegates of those countries flung counter charges at the US, with Iran joining the fray.</s>The United Nations General Assembly has approved the appointment of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as the world body's new human rights chief.

The decision was taken by consensus in the 193-nation assembly after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres put forward Bachelet to be the next UN high commissioner for human rights on August 8.

Guterres said on Twitter he was "delighted" that his pick had been approved.

"Ms. Bachelet is a pioneer, a visionary, a woman of principle, and a great human rights leader for these troubled times," Guterres tweeted on August 10.

In a video posted on Twitter, Bachelet said she was "deeply humbled and honored" by the appointment and pledged to bring "all of my energy and convictions" to the job.

Bachelet, a single mother of three, will replace Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, a Jordanian diplomat and member of the country's royal family, who is stepping down at the end of the month after a four-year term.

Bachelet, who was tortured under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, was the first woman to become president of Chile.

She served for two terms as Chile's president, from 2006-10 and 2014-18. She led UN Women, which supports gender equality and the empowerment of women, between 2010 and 2013.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa</s>UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday announced the appointment of Michelle Bachelet, Chile's twice-serving president who endured torture under the Pinochet regime, as the world body's next human rights chief.

Bachelet, 66, is set to replace Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein of Jordan, a sharp critic of US President Donald Trump's policies, who held the post of UN high commissioner for human rights since September 2014.

A two-time president who ranks among the world's most powerful women in politics, Bachelet also served in 2010 as the first director of UN Women, the UN agency promoting gender equality worldwide.

Guterres informed the General Assembly of his decision in a letter on Wednesday following consultations with the heads of regional groups at the United Nations, a UN statement said.

The 193-nation assembly will meet on Friday to vote on the appointment, which is expected to win approval, diplomats said. Zeid is due to step down on August 31.

Bachelet will step into a position that has drawn much controversy under Zeid, who decided not to seek a second term after losing support from powerful countries including the United States, Russia and China.

Zeid last year compared Trump to a bus driver "careening down a mountain path", engaged in "reckless driving" for his attacks on the media.

In an implicit swipe at Zeid, US Ambassador Nikki Haley urged Bachelet "to avoid the failures of the past."

"The UN has failed to adequately address major human rights crises in Iran, North Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and elsewhere, or stop its chronic, disproportionate obsession with Israel.

"It is up to Ms. Bachelet to speak out against these failures rather than accept the status quo. We hope that she does," Haley said in a statement.

One of the world's most difficult jobs

With Zeid under fire for his blunt criticism of leaders, rights groups were concerned that Guterres would seek to appoint a less vocal human rights boss.

"If selected, Bachelet will be taking on one of the world's most difficult jobs at a moment when human rights are under widespread attack," said Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth.

"As a victim herself, she brings a unique perspective to the role on the importance of a vigorous defense of human rights. People worldwide will depend on her to be a public and forceful champion, especially where offenders are powerful."

The daughter of a general who opposed Augusto Pinochet's overthrow of president Salvador Allende, Bachelet was detained in 1975 and held for several weeks at the infamous Villa Grimaldi interrogation and torture center in Santiago.

"I was mainly tortured psychologically, and some beating, but they didn't 'grill' me," Bachelet said in an interview, using prisoners' slang for electric shocks administered to detainees.

"I was lucky compared to so many others. Many of them died," said Bachelet in the 2014 interview, one of the few times that she has discussed the ordeal.

The pediatrician and socialist who was Chile's first woman to hold the presidency was in office from 2006 to 2010, and then again from 2014 to March this year.

Last year, Guterres named her as a member of a high-level panel on mediation that provides him with advice on peace efforts, describing her as a "long-time champion of women's rights" with a "history of dynamic global leadership, highly-honed political skills and a recognized ability to create consensus."

Born in Santiago, Bachelet was studying medicine when she was detained for several weeks. After her release, she went into exile with her mother to Australia before moving to East Germany.

Bachelet returned to Chile in 1979, but was prevented from working as a doctor for political reasons. She continued studying, specializing in pediatrics and public health.

After democracy was restored to Chile in 1990, she worked for the health ministry and in 2000 was appointed health minister, followed by defense minister four years later.

As president, Bachelet offered a dramatic break from Chile's highly conservative political class. She reformed the pension system and improved health and social services, focusing on Chile's working poor.</s>The United Nations General Assembly met on Friday and approved Michelle Bachelet’s appointment as the world body’s new human rights chief.

The former president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, was chosen by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to replace Jordanian diplomat Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, who will step down from the post at the end of the month after a four-year term.

The UN Human Rights High Commissioner is the principle official who speaks out for human rights across the whole UN system. Key duties are described as "strengthening human rights mechanisms, enhancing equality, fighting discrimination in all its forms, strengthening accountability and the rule of law, widening the democratic space and protecting the most vulnerable from all forms of human rights abuses".

Bachelet’s predecessor, al-Hussein, was noted for being outspoken. He regularly criticised President Trump’s policies and government, most recently over the decision to separate young children from their parents in a crackdown on immigration.

It is likely Bachelet will not shy away from confronting the hard issues either. During her Chilean presidency, she was noted for pushing for a more radical tax-and-spend agenda, as well as broader abortion rights and gay marriage. But she is first and foremost a women’s rights champion and this will be central to her manifesto in her new UN position.

“Women’s rights will certainly be at the forefront, but she [Bachelet] will also consider the broader picture,” Harold Hongju Koh, a professor of international law at Yale Law School, told FRANCE 24. “She has two important qualities that will be crucial to how she manages her new position. Firstly, she is a former president. She is only the second head of state to be high commissioner for human rights after Ireland’s former president, Mary Robinson. And this means she already has personal experience of meeting heads of state, she is used to sitting at the top table. So she cannot be shunted off on lowly junior representatives, as some of her predecessors have been. She can demand a meeting with a president and her reputation means she will get it.

“And, secondly, she has already spent a number of years as the head of United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). This means she knows how the UN system works from the inside. She has already worked out how to manage the bureaucracy and to maintain her reputation.”

Bachelet’s name was almost tarnished by her tangential connection to a corruption scandal in 2015. She became involved in controversy when her son, Sebastian Davalos, was accused by the opposition of using his influences to get a large bank loan for his wife. Chile’s national bank regulator cleared Davalos of any wrongdoing, but the issue had already become a political scandal. Davalos resigned as head of a government charity and apologised for any harm this had done to his mother and to the Chilean government.

This happened soon after Bachelet was reappointed as Chile’s president after a four-year break. During those years she served as the first executive director of then newly created UN Women.

Bachelet also has an incredible personal story of overcoming adversities. The daughter of a determined Pinochet opponent, she experienced firsthand Pinochet’s regime when she and her mother were interrogated and tortured at the notorious Villa Grimaldi. She went into exile first in Australia and then in East Germany, before returning to Chile and becoming a doctor. Then, as a single mother, she turned to politics and became the Minister for Health, followed by the Minister for National Defense. She was appointed the first female president of Chile in January 2006.

Describing her new role, Koh said Bachelet needs to be an insider-outsider. “She needs to be a team player but she also needs to maintain a critical distance,” said Koh. “We call this the French Horn phenomenon; you need to play with the other instruments in the orchestra to create a cohesive sound but you need to also preserve your own distinctive voice. And I believe she will achieve this. It’s a delicate game that she must now play, but she has managed to play this game before and she is an inspired choice for the role.”</s>UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) – The United Nations General Assembly approved yesterday the appointment of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as the world body’s new human rights chief.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Bachelet on Wednesday. She will replace Jordan’s Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, who is stepping down at the end of the month after a four-year term in the Geneva-based job.

Bachelet, who was tortured under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, was the first woman to be president of Chile, one of the region’s most developed economies.</s>The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, praised Michelle Bachelet on Friday as having been a "formidable figure" both during her term as president of Chile and during her role as the first leader of UN Women.

Bachelet will return to the UN starting September 1, after being confirmed by the General Assembly as the new High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The United Nations General Assembly confirms Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, to succeed Zeid Raad Al Hussein as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The decision to appoint her for a four-year term, starting September 1, was made by consensus after her nomination by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.