NEW YORK | Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will not appoint a successor to U.N. human rights advocate Louise Arbour before her term ends on Monday, and he dismissed a claim by the president of East Timor that he had been offered the job.
East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta told the country’s parliament last week that he had been offered the job and is expected to announce his acceptance in Dili Friday morning.
But Mr. Ban rejected that assertion, telling reporters Thursday that he had not made a decision.
“I am still in the process,” he said. “I would like to make it quite clear that I have never spoken to anybody to offer my nomination.”
A senior aide to Mr. Ban told The Washington Times he will not make his choice until the middle of July, when he returns from an Asian trip that includes the G-8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is one of the most sensitive positions in the U.N. firmament.
The Geneva-based office is responsible for advocating the civil rights and political liberty of people around the world, particularly of minorities and those who live under repressive regimes.
The job requires constant travel, and the ability to speak forcefully to world leaders. If the commissioner is too shrill, he or she will lose access to government officials. But the credibility of the office rests on that access, as well the perception that the high commissioner is a passionate and fearless advocate.
Human rights groups are among the best-organized and most-cohesive global nongovernmental organization (NGO) networks. The commissioner’s stature and power rests, in large part, on winning the groups’ respect and support.
These groups and some U.N. member states have criticized what they see as the secretary-general’s secretive selection process.
Human rights groups have asked to be included in the process, and demanded a short list of candidates.
Avaaz.org, a Web-based public action group, spent $10,000 to publish a dummy ’help wanted’ advertisement in the Economist magazine, seeking a candidate with strong credentials.
Mr. Ban has refused to reveal the names of an advisory panel that has been vetting candidates and conducting interviews. The office has also declined to name the panel members in an effort to shield them from political pressure.
The aide said the panel members would not be identified even after they have finished the selection process, “although we will make sure the process is explained to member states.”
Under the U.N. Charter, the General Assembly must approve Mr. Ban’s choice for high commissioner, but in reality that is a formality.
Ms. Arbour, 61, a former Supreme Court justice in Canada, concludes her four-year term at the end of June, and did not request a second term.
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