The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has agreed to extend the two-year mandate of human rights envoy Surya Subedi in what the envoy described yesterday as a “rather unprecedented” renewal.

Adopted by consensus on Friday, just three days after he told the council that Cambodia faces a critical juncture in the country’s road to democracy, the reappointment was greeted with delight by Subedi.

“I regard this as evidence of trust and confidence of the UN Human Rights Council in me and my work on Cambodia. I thank the international community and the Government of Cambodia for their cooperation in this regard,” Subedi said in an email.

The Leeds University professor has held the post since 2009, and is the longest-serving of the five UN human rights envoys to Cambodia since 1993.

Though Subedi has had at-times frosty relations with the government, the Cambodian ambassador to the UN called on states to adopt Friday’s resolution.