Seoul, Mar 13 (IANS): The UN is recruiting a new special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights and plans to name the successor in June, it was announced on Sunday.
The successful candidate will be announced at the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council slated to kick off on June 13, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The new candidate, if selected, will replace Tomas Ojea Quintana, who has served in the position since 2016, and formally assume the post from August.
The special rapporteur position was first created in 2004 to investigate and report to the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly on the human rights situation in the reclusive regime in light of international human rights law.
The rapporteur can serve up to six years based on renewal on an annual basis.
Quintana, an Argentine lawyer and human rights expert, succeeded Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia as the special rapporteur for North Korea in 2016.