UN Human Rights Post Will Be Awarded Before Any Briefing of GA, Kerim Claims Input and Fight for his Office’s Funding
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, July 9 — With the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights post vacant for more than a week, the President of the UN General Assembly Srgjan Kerim claimed Wednesday that the GA will have input into the selection of the next Commissioner, by being briefed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “in the next ten days” about “the persons who are proposed.”
But minutes later Ban’s spokesperson Michele Montas, when asked by Inner City Press if this meant Ban will brief the Assembly before announcing a winner, said no, the input has already been taken, the GA briefing will be after the decision has been made.
Srgjan Kerim said that he is scheduled to meet with Ban upon his return from the G-8 meetings in Japan, either Thursday or Friday, and that the input briefing of the Assembly will follow that. “The General Assembly will be involved,” he said, “that’s what we have agreed, it lifts the level of transparency.”
There seem to be differing understandings here between what was agreed, formal input by the General Assembly at a briefing about the “persons” (plural) being considered, or a briefing only after the winner has been selected.
