UN Photo: OHCHR
The post of High Commissioner requires a mandate holder who is principled, independent, expert, and deeply committed to human rights.
The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) notes the announcement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, that she will conclude her term in August.
The post of High Commissioner requires a mandate holder who is principled, independent, expert, and deeply committed to human rights.
It requires a mandate holder who can engage in strategic dialogue while also pursuing accountability and combating impunity for violations and abuses of human rights, even those committed by the most powerful states and actors.
It requires support for human rights defenders and solidarity with individuals, groups and minorities subject to various forms of discrimination and oppression.
The UN Secretary General’s process for the appointment of the next High Commissioner should be open, transparent, merit-based and involve meaningful consultation with independent civil society organisations and human rights defenders.’
ISHR will seek to support and critically engage with the work of the next mandate holder in order to ensure their commitment to public diplomacy in favour of advancing human rights worldwide.
In a statement at an interactive dialogue on the annual report of the High Commissioner, ISHR Executive Director Phil Lynch called on States to support the work of defenders and to pay their UN dues.
The 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council (16 June to 9 July 2025) will consider issues including civil society space, climate change, sexual orientation and gender identity, violence and discrimination against women and girls, poverty, peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of expression, among others. It will also present an opportunity to address grave human rights situations including in Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Eritrea, Israel and oPt, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela, among many others. Here’s an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.
Over 20 NGOs demand the immediate and unconditional release of Ibrahim Metwally, detained solely for peacefully exercising his human rights.
