The government has appointed international human rights advocate Irene Khan as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, granting her the status of a state minister (equivalent to minister of state) upon assuming office.

The appointment was announced in a gazette notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Wednesday (July 8). According to the notification, Khan will receive the salary, allowances and other benefits applicable to a minister of state during her tenure.

She will succeed Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, the current Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United Nations.

Since August 1, 2020, Khan has served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. She is also a faculty member at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

Earlier, Khan served as Secretary General of Amnesty International from 2001 to 2009, becoming the organization’s first female leader. She later served as Director-General of the International Development Law Organization from 2012 to 2019.