Jordanian ambassador named UN human rights chief

Jordan’s FM said letters were sent to the UN Security Council members, the UN secretary-general, and the EU regarding Israeli actions on the Temple Mount.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON, REUTERS
United Nations Human Rights Council 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
United Nations Human Rights Council 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
The UN General Assembly approved Jordan’s UN ambassador, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, as its human rights chief Monday, making him the first Muslim and Arab to hold the job.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon nominated Zeid earlier this month to replace Navi Pillay, a South African jurist who in 2012 was given an abbreviated second term of only two years.
Zeid, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Cambridge University, has previously served as Jordan’s ambassador to the United States and Mexico. He was also a political affairs officer in UNPROFOR, the UN peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia during the Balkan conflict.
Meanwhile, Jordanian officials revealed new security measures along its border with Iraq after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria conquered territory in northern Iraq and pushed toward Baghdad.
The buildup of forces along the border is one of several measures taken to “safeguard national security,” Jordanian officials said, reported The Jordan Times.
The border was calm on Monday as regular cargo and travelers crossed the border between the two countries, security sources said, according to the report.
“Our armed forces and security agencies are fully ready to protect Jordan from any repercussions that might result from developments in Syria and Iraq,” Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Interior Minister Hussein al-Majali said on Monday, Jordan News Agency – Petra reported.
Speaking at a meeting with members of parliament, Judeh noted that the country was closely monitoring the situation in Iraq.
The foreign minister also played down the worry that Iraqi refugees would seek to come to Jordan, saying that they are fleeing to northern Iraq instead.
Regarding Israel, he said that the country has sent letters to the UN Security Council members, the UN secretary- general, and the EU, informing them about Israeli actions at the Al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount.