UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today confirmed that he had persuaded Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson to stay in office for another year.
Speaking in Kenya, where he and Mrs Robinson are attending a meeting of UN heads of agencies, Mr Annan said the former Irish president had received many messages from world leaders urging her to reconsider her decision to leave the office in September.
Mrs Robinson was quite vocal in her criticism of countries she felt were not upholding human rights during her term, which began in 1997.
She had made her decision not to seek a second term because she felt the office was under-funded and under-staffed.