Prominent human rights advocate Irene Zubaida Khan has formally assumed office as Bangladesh’s new permanent representative to the United Nations.

Khan took charge on Friday after presenting her credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN Headquarters in New York, formally beginning her tenure as Bangladesh’s ambassador and permanent representative to the world body, reports UNB.

She was appointed to the post on July 8 with the rank and privileges of a state minister. Khan succeeds Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, who is set to return from the United States to take over as Bangladesh’s foreign secretary.

Khan brings decades of experience in human rights, international law, refugee protection, the rule of law and sustainable development to the diplomatic role.

Since August 2020, she has served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Previously, Khan served as secretary-general of Amnesty International from 2001 to 2009, becoming the first woman to lead the global human rights organisation.

From 2012 to 2019, she served as director-general of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), an intergovernmental organisation focused on advancing the rule of law and sustainable development.

Khan began her international career with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where she worked for 21 years in several senior roles, including as chief of mission in India and deputy director of the Division of International Protection.

She has also been involved in academia and served as a faculty member at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She was a visiting professor at the State University of New York’s law school and served as chancellor of the University of Salford in the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2015.

Over the years, Khan has served on several international advisory and governing bodies, including the World Bank’s Gender Advisory Council, a UNAIDS high-level panel on HIV prevention and human rights, and the advisory board of the UN Global Compact.

In recognition of her contributions to human rights and peace, Khan received the prestigious Sydney Peace Prize in 2006.

She is also the author of The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights and studied law at the University of Manchester and Harvard Law School.