Bangla Press Desk: The government has decided to appoint internationally renowned human rights advocate Irene Khan as Bangladesh's next Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, replacing incumbent envoy Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, according to multiple foreign ministry sources.
The sources said Khan is expected to assume the post before the UN General Assembly in September.
The move is part of major changes in the foreign ministry, the sources added.
A prominent figure in the global human rights community, Khan has served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression since August 2020. She is the first woman to hold the mandate since it was established in 1993.
She is also a faculty member at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and co-author of The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights, a book published in seven languages.
Khan led Amnesty International as its Secretary General from 2001 to 2009, becoming the organisation's first female chief. During her tenure, Amnesty expanded its focus beyond political and civil rights to include economic, social and cultural rights, while launching its first global campaign to end violence against women and girls.
Between 2012 and 2019, she served as Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the only intergovernmental organisation dedicated exclusively to promoting the rule of law and sustainable development. In that role, she championed access to justice and Sustainable Development Goal 16, and co-convened several major international conferences on justice, women's rights and the rule of law.
Khan also worked as consulting editor of The Daily Star in Bangladesh from 2010 to 2011, writing on human rights, democracy and gender issues while supporting independent journalism. She later served as a visiting professor at the State University of New York Law School and as Chancellor of the University of Salford in the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2015.Her professional career began with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where she spent 21 years in various roles, including Chief of Mission in India and Deputy Director of the Division of International Protection.
In addition to her UN role, Khan collaborates with Columbia University's Global Freedom of Expression programme and serves on the governing boards of several international organisations, including the Overseas Development Institute in the UK, BRAC in Bangladesh and Barefoot Law in Uganda. She has also served on advisory bodies for the World Bank, UNAIDS and the UN Global Compact.
Born in Bangladesh, Khan studied at the University of Manchester and Harvard Law School. She has received numerous international honours, including the Sydney Peace Prize in 2006, in recognition of her contributions to advancing human rights worldwide.
