Diplomats: Chile's Bachelet to be new UN human rights chief

Diplomats say Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has chosen Chile’s former President Michelle Bachelet to be the next U.N. human rights chief.

The diplomats said Wednesday that U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a group of ambassadors of Guterres’ decision on Tuesday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no official announcement.

Bachelet must be confirmed by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said he could not confirm the report but said a name was being sent to the assembly.

Bachelet served as Chile’s president twice, from 2006-2010 and from 2014-2018. In between, she was the first head of UN Women, a new agency to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.

She will replace Jordanian Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein whose term ends Aug. 31.