UN human rights chief to step down

The United Nations’ top human rights official is quitting after only one term.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that she will step down at the end of her current four-year term on June 30.

Arbour made her decision public in today’s session of the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council.

The 61-year-old Canadian legal expert stopped short of telling the council why she is quitting but, like her predecessors, she has been a frequent target of criticism from a broad range of countries.