National and personal achievement

The UN secretary general’s nomination of His Highness Prince Zeid to the high post of UN high commissioner for human rights is both a testament to Jordan’s special image and  profile as a moderate country that believes in and respects human rights, and a tribute to the prince’s qualifications and his championing the cause of human rights and humanitarian law.

The record and achievements of the outgoing Jordanian ambassador to the UN in defence of human rights everywhere is long and has earned him the respect and admiration of nations worldwide.

This well-earned nomination carries with it awesome responsibilities. One is to set the UN human  rights process on the right track.

Prince Zeid will inherit a complicated, often duplicated or overlapping, system where the number of treaty bodies has reached 10 already and where there is the hard work of finding ways and means to make all these bodies harmonised and effective.

Then, there is the highly politicised UN Human Rights Council, some of whose members have dismal human rights records.

The new head of the UN human rights system might wish to consider conducting a study on the true impact the various international human rights treaty bodies have on the way human rights are observed, to determine successes and shortcomings.

There is a great deal to be done to put the UN human rights system on the right track and help it make a difference in the lives of nations.

Prince Zeid will have a lot to do, but there is no doubt that he is able and has a clear vision of how to promote and protect human rights in the most effective way.