President's hopes of UN post hit by support for Costa Rican

THE Latin American and Caribbean group at the United Nations has unanimously urged the Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, to appoint…

THE Latin American and Caribbean group at the United Nations has unanimously urged the Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, to appoint Ms Sonia Picado of Costa Rica to the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The move is seen as a setback for the chances of the President, Mrs Robinson, to secure the post.

Ms Picado, who is her country's ambassador to the US, has also affirmed that Mexico and Chile are supporting her, rather than Mrs Robinson, contrary to reports in the Irish media.

Earlier this month, the foreign ministers of Mexico and Chile were reported as saying they supported Mrs Robinson. They were canvassed by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, at a meeting in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, between EU and Latin American ministers.

But in a letter last week to Mr Annan, the chairman of the Latin American and Caribbean group, Mr Fernando Guillen, Peru's ambassador to the UN, stated that Ms Picado has the "unanimous support" of all the countries in the group including Mexico and Chile.

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This was confirmed yesterday by the Mexican embassy in Washington. An official told The Irish Times that Mexico officially supports the candidature of Ms Picado and that has been the position for some time".

Asked about the apparent support for Mrs Robinson expressed by Mexico's Foreign Minister, Mr Jose Angel Gurria, when in the Netherlands, the official said there had been "a misunderstanding". The Minister had "said in response to a question that Mrs Robinson was a good candidate but he had not supported her".

In his letter, Mr Guillen reminded Mr Annan that the group has already drawn his attention to the reasons why Ms Picado would be the "ideal candidate to replace Ambassador Ayala Lasso of Ecuador" as high commissioner. These included her "out standing personal qualities" and "long experience in the field of human rights". It is also usual UN practice to replace an incumbent with a person of the same nationality or from the same region, the letter said.

A spokeswoman for Ms Picado told The Irish Times yesterday that she had "heard from other embassies that Mexico and Chile deny that they have given support to Mrs Robinson".

Mrs Robinson will meet Mr Annan at the UN on May 23rd to discuss her candidature. He has indicated that he will announce his choice for the post in July.