A senior United Nations official from Brazil has been...

A senior United Nations official from Brazil has been appointed the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Sergio Vieira de Mello was named as Mary Robinson's successor by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. A vote at the UN General Assembly in New York confirmed his appointment.
Robinson, a former Irish President who has headed the United Nations Human Rights Commission since 1997, announced earlier in 2002 that she would be stepping down after receiving harsh criticism from the US for her stance as head of the Geneva-based body.
The high-profile post often draws flak for its holder. Robinson won Washington's ire for frequent criticism of both its foreign and domestic policies. These included the conditions in which Taliban prisoners were held in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, the aerial bombardment of Afghanistan, and US use of the death penalty. Robinson expressed further concern over the Israeli occupation of Palestine, "collateral damage" during the Kosovo campaign and racism against immigrants in Europe.
"When I leave this office," she told the BBC in a recent interview, "I will look for ways of creating the political will to help developing countries and guarantee their human rights." Robinson also recognized that her direct style had made her enemies. "After five years in this job, I am more angered than ever by the divisions in our world."
Her replacement, Vieira de Mello, has held several senior posts at the UN. An able negotiator, his style is much more diplomatic. From October 1999 to May 2002, he headed the UN's mission to East Timor. Mello, who was a former director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, began his career at the organization at the High Commission for Refugees. His appointment is likely to be welcomed by the US.
"He knows where the red lines are," said one Washington envoy.
A spokeswoman for Robinson said she welcomed Vieira de Mello's appointment.
Vieira de Mello takes up his new post in September.
The Human Rights Commission was created in 1994 to raise the profile of rights issues within the UN.