Dunja Mijatović from Bosnia and Herzegovina will become the new Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. She will take office in April and serve a six-year termm inclusion-europe.eu reports.
The first woman to be elected in this position, Dunja Mijatović has built her career around the topics of human rights and freedom of the media, with positions at the OSCE and the European Platform of Media Regulatory Authorities. She has been awarded several prizes for her work in human rights.
The task of the Commissioner for Human Rights is to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the 47 Council of Europe member states. He or she examines the human rights situation during regular visits to the these states, talking to both governments and civil society. In the past, Human Rights Commissioners have pointed out when the human rights of people with intellectual disabilities were not respected.