GENEVA — United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk, an outspoken critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s conduct in Gaza, faces opposition from both countries to a second four-year term ahead of a potentially contentious vote on Friday, diplomats tell Reuters.

Turk, a lawyer who has worked for the United Nations for decades in major offices such as Geneva and field locations including Kosovo, ends his first four-year term in October.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has worked closely with Turk in the past and who steps down in December, has proposed another term for the Austrian until 2030.

However, Russia has submitted a counter-proposal to extend his term by just over two months, until the end of 2026, according to a copy seen by Reuters. Three diplomats said Israel also opposed a four-year extension and that Washington had raised doubts, turning what had been expected to be a consensus-backed reappointment into a contentious vote.

Others have also privately questioned another full term, saying the matter should instead be determined by Guterres’s successor. Guterres’s term ends at the end of 2026, and the selection process for the next UN secretary general kicks off next week.

“It’s up to the next SG,” one diplomat said.

Asked to comment, Russia’s UN mission in New York agreed.

“Mr. Turk’s reappointment for four years deprives the new secretary-general of the opportunity to make his/her own choice for such an important post for a long period,” it said. “It is an arbitrary idea given the sensitivity of the human rights architecture and its role in the United Nations in general.”

The mission said the view was shared........

© The Times of Israel