Picking the Next High Commissioner

In this week’s Economist, there is a curious ‘Executive Focus’ classified ad to recruit the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Canadian jurist Louise Arbour is resigning from the post she has held since 2004, and the United Nations is preparing to fill the spot. The ad, though is not being paid for, nor endorsed, by the United Nations. Rather, the non-profit advocacy group Avaaz bought the ad as part of its campaign to increase transparency in the selection of top officials at international institutions.

This corresponding blog, sponsored by Avaaz and run by the Financial Times UN correspondent Mark Turner, profiles the top candidates and offers running commentary on the selection process. Check it out.