New EC Commissioner for Human Rights

Dunja Mijatovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) was elected as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights by the Organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) at its plenary session in Strasbourg, yesterday.

Ms Mijatovic was elected for a non-renewable term of six years starting on 1 April 2018.

She obtained 107 of the votes cast in the second round, a relative majority. Pierre-Yves Le Borgn’ (France) obtained 103 votes and Goran Klemencic (Slovenia) obtained 19 votes.

From 2010 to 2017, Dunja Mijatovic was the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. Previously, she served as Director of Broadcasting at the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CRA). She was also the Chairperson of the European Platform of Media Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) and she chaired the Council of Europe's Group of Specialists on freedom of expression and information in times of crisis. She has been awarded several prizes for her work in the field of human rights.

The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial non-judicial institution established in 1999 by the Council of Europe to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the 47 Council of Europe member States; identify possible shortcomings in the law and practice concerning human rights; and facilitate the activities of national ombudsperson institutions and other human rights structures.

The Commissioner makes regular visits to the Member States to engage in dialogue with governments and civil society and draw up reports on issues falling within his or her mandate.