No previous High Commissioner has served a full second term:
To date, there have been six High Commissioners and one Acting High Commissioner. The post, created in 1993 under Resolution 48/141, is hthe successful candidate for a "fixed term of four years with a possibility of one renewal for another fixed term of four years"
1. Jose Ayala-Lasso (1994-1997)
His initial term was cut short due to being appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs of his native Ecuador)
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/Ayala.aspx
2. Mary Robinson (1997-2002)
Following the completion of her initial four-year term she served an additional one year at Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s request to preside over the World Conference Against Racism in 2001.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/Robinson.aspx
3. Sergio Vieira de Mello (2002-2003)
Served for one year before being asked to take a temporary leave of absence by the UN Secretary-General to become the UN chief’s special representative in Iraq. He was killed three months into his Iraq posting in the infamous Canal Hotel Bombing.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/Vieira.aspx
4. Louise Arbour (2004-2008)
Decided to not seek a second term.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/LouiseArbour.aspx
5. Navanethem Pillay (2008-2014)
Following the completion of her initial four-year term, she was reappointed for a term of two years at the request of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/NaviPillay.aspx
6. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein (2014-2018)
Decided to not seek a second term. Zeid stated: “After reflection, I have decided not to seek a second four-year term...to do so, in the current geopolitical context, might involve bending a knee in supplication; muting a statement of advocacy; lessening the independence and integrity of my voice — which is your voice.”
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/HighCommissioner.aspx
Backgrounds of previous High Commissioners at a glance
Only 1 out of the 6 High Commissioners have had experience working within the UN system prior to their appointment.
- Sergio de Mello began his UN experience with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and subsequently served in both humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, followed by several high-level posts at UNHCR among other positions.
Half of the High Commissioners have prior experience serving their government at a national level:
- Jose Ayala-Lasso was Ecuador’s former Foreign Minister before taking up his position as the first High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- Mary Robinson took the post in 1997 after having served as Ireland’s President for 7 years.
- Zeid previously represented Jordan on the question of nuclear security following the Washington Summit on nuclear security in April 2010 and who also served as Jordan's permament representative to the UN from 2000-2007 and then from 2010-2014. He was also Jordan's ambassador to the United States from 2007-2010
Two out of the six High Commissioners have previously been judges while five of the six have an academic background in law:
- Mr. Ayala-Lasso holds degrees in law and economics, international law, political and social sciences from la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, la Universidad Central del Ecuador, and l'Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
- Educated at Trinity College, Mrs. Robinson holds law degrees from the King's Inns in Dublin and from Harvard University.
- Sergio Vieira de Mello joined the United Nations in 1969 while studying philosophy and humanities at the University of Paris (Panthéon-Sorbonne).
- Ms. Arbour graduated from College Regina Assumpta, Montreal in 1967 and completed an LL.L (with distinction) from the Faculty of Law, University of Montreal in 1970. Following the Quebec Bar Admission Course, she was called to the Quebec Bar in 1971 and the Ontario Bar in 1977.
- Navanethem Pillay received a BA and a LLB from Natal University South Africa. She also holds a Master of Law and a Doctorate of Juridical Science from Harvard University.
- Zeid Hussein holds a Bachelor of Arts from The Johns Hopkins University and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Cambridge University (Christ’s College). On 14 June 2008, he was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the Southern California Institute of Law for his work on international justice.
Funding of OHCHR
Approximately 44% of the budget is covered by the UN regular budget, the rest by voluntary contributions. In 2016 for example, the regular budget appropriation stood at $100 million while voluntary contributions totalled $129.6 million.
‘The approved regular budget appropriation for the Office in 2018-2019 is US$201.6 million, just 3.7 per cent of the total UN regular budget’ Regular budgets are over two years, so annual quantities will be half of this.