The United Nations Secretary-General has appointed an Australian supreme court judge

to head the Human Rights field office in Phnom Penh.

The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby will lead the first in-country office established

outside of Human Rights headquarters in Geneva.

The Cambodian Office of the Center for Human Rights has a mandate to maintain contact

with the government and people of Cambodia.

Other roles are to guide and coordinate the U.N. human rights presence and help the

government protect human rights.

Justice Kirby is president of the court of appeal in Sydney and chair of the executive

committee of the International Commission of Jurists.