The Committee of Ministers has submitted a shortlist of three candidates for the post of Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner to the organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly.
The candidates are, in alphabetical order:
- Meglena KUNEVA (Bulgaria)
- Manfred NOWAK (Austria)
- Michael O’FLAHERTY (Ireland).
The Assembly will elect one of the three candidates as the new Commissioner during its winter plenary session in Strasbourg (22-26 January 2024). The new Commissioner will take office on 1st April 2024, when the current Commissioner, Dunja Mijatović, will end her term of office.
The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial institution established in 1999 by Council of Europe to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the 46 Council of Europe member states. The Commissioner is elected for a non-renewable term of office of six years.