Jordan's prince appointed as UN human rights chief

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that he will appoint Zeid in place of Navi Pillay. The term of South African jurist Pillay will expire at the end of August.

Zeid has served as Jordan's ambassador to the United Nations and the United States. He has worked with peace-keeping missions in the former Yugoslavia, according to NHK World.

After the UN general assembly endorses Zeid, he will be inaugurated in September as the new UN human rights chief based in Geneva.

UN observers are focusing on how the Jordanian prince will deal with the ongoing human rights crisis in Syria.