Lord Maginnis of the Ulster Unionist Party has been shortlisted for a position on the North's Human Rights Commission.
Lord Maginnis, who yesterday confirmed he was interviewed by a Northern Ireland Office panel last Friday, said the current nine-member commission was placing too much emphasis on controversial topics.
"Human rights issues have been reduced to the chairman making controversial pronouncements about controversial issues, rather than looking at the whole spectrum," he said.
If appointed he aimed to highlight the unfair provision of healthcare and the unequal geographical spread of employment opportunities.
Twenty-two people will be interviewed over coming weeks to replace Ms Angela Hegarty, a former member of the SDLP who left the commission in January. An NIO spokeswoman said a decision would be taken by the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, at the end of August.
Lord Maginnis said the unionist community needed a "credible figure" on the commission. "Unionists need to see the commission as something for the whole of society, not just for the few," he said. His practical experience would enhance the "academic approach" of the commission to date.
The Chief Commissioner, Prof Brice Dickson, was recently embroiled in controversy when the RUC Chief Constable criticised his call for police to stop using plastic bullets for crowd control.
Mr Alex Attwood, of the SDLP, said clear criteria existed for British government appointments to ensure public bodies were representative of the community.
"The previous commission was deemed to be balanced by the government, and any attempt to upset that balance would be unfortunate and unhelpful," he said.