EPISODE · Jul 12, 2022 · 23 MIN
What does it take to lead the UN human rights office?
from Inside Geneva · host SWI swissinfo.ch
Send us Fan MailUN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet will leave office at the end of August. The hunt is on for the world’s new human rights leader.Podcast host Imogen Foulkes asks former United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein what it is like to do the job.“Most of my time I was writing to governments, talking to them, calling them, but I had no hesitation of going public when I felt we needed to go public,” says Zeid. Does he have any advice for a new commissioner?“Navi Pillay (former high commissioner) said the worst mistake you can make is to privilege any country. Don’t privilege any particular group or country,” he recalls. And how risky is calling countries to account? “Rather than you worry about how they may react to your statements, they ought to be worrying about what you might be saying about them,” answers Zeid.Get in touch!Email us at [email protected]: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang
What this episode covers
Send us Fan Mail UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet will leave office at the end of August. The hunt is on for the world’s new human rights leader. Podcast host Imogen Foulkes asks former United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein what it is like to do the job. “Most of my time I was writing to governments, talking to them, calling them, but I had no hesitation of going public when I felt we needed to go public,” says Zeid. Does he have any ...
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What does it take to lead the UN human rights office?
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