Austrian diplomat Volker Turk appointed new UN human rights chief.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Volker Turk of Austria as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, following approval by the UN General Assembly.

He will succeed Michelle Bachelet of Chile, whose term ended last week.

Turk, who has worked as the secretary-general's top policy chief, was nominated by Guterres.

"Mr. Turk has devoted his long and distinguished career to advancing universal human rights, notably the international protection of some of the world's most vulnerable people - refugees and Stateless persons," the UN chief said in a statement on Thursday.

The new High Commissioner is currently coordinating global policy work as an Under-Secretary-General in the UN chef's Executive Office.

He also ensures UN system-wide coordination in the follow-up to the Secretary-General's Call to Action for Human Rights" and his report," Our Common Agenda, which sets out a vision to tackle the world's interconnected challenges on foundations of trust, solidarity and human rights."

From 2019 to 2021, Turk served as Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the UN chief's Executive Office.

Prior to that, he was the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UN refugees, UNHCR, in Geneva - from 2015 to 2019 - where he played a ka key role in the development of the landmark "Global Compact on Refugees."

Over the course of his career, the newly appointed human rights chief held a number of key positions, including at UNHCR headquarters where he served from 2009 to 2015 as Director of the Division of International Protection; from 2008 to 2009 as Director of Organizational Development and...

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