U.N. assembly confirms S.African as human rights chief

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly on Monday unanimously confirmed South African judge Navanethem Pillay as the world body's new human rights chief, and activist groups urged her to be tough in her new post.

Pillay, who will succeed outspoken Canadian Louise Arbour, is a judge at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The post of high commissioner is one of the highest-profile and most controversial U.N. jobs. She takes office on September 1.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Pillay's confirmation by the assembly, which represents all 192 U.N. member states, in a statement issued by his spokeswoman.

"The Secretary-General is determined to give the High Commissioner full support, including with increased financial and human resources," the statement said.

U.N. diplomats and officials said the United States had initially resisted the idea of appointing her due to concerns about her views on abortion and other issues but eventually agreed to drop its opposition.

Arbour, a Canadian, said in March she would not seek a second four-year term as the Geneva-based U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights after her term expired in June.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad congratulated Pillay on her new job last week but acknowledged that Washington had had some concerns about her based on allegations about her past.

"We didn't find substance in the allegations," he said.

South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo welcomed Pillay's confirmation and told the General Assembly that she has been an untiring champion of human rights around the world. "The Secretary-General has made the right choice," he said.

The United States gave no speech at the confirmation.

ANTI-APARTHEID

Diplomats said some human rights groups had expressed concern that the Harvard Law School graduate might not be as outspoken as Arbour.

UN Watch, a non-governmental human rights group that monitors the United Nations, said Pillay will have to fend off increased threats to individual freedoms around the world.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, said in a statement that Pillay faced three major challenges.