United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mrs Mary Robinson today announced she is stepping down from the post, saying she thought she could do more outside the "constraints" of the UN.
Mrs Robinson, who took up the top UN rights job in September 1997, made the announcement to the annual UN Commission on Human Rights.
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Mrs Robinson has told Mr Kofi Annan of her decision
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Delegates to the 53-member state forum, which opened its annual six-week session in Geneva as demonstrators outside protested against China's crackdown on the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, rose to applaud her.
News that she would leave office after a major global conference against racism, being held in Durban, South Africa, from August 31-September 7, took senior staff and diplomats by surprise as most heads of UN agencies tend to seek renewals.
"I will continue to work wholeheartedly for human rights in the way that I know best - as an advocate. I believe that I can, at this stage, achieve more outside of the constraints that a multilateral organisation inevitably imposes", Mr Robinson said in a personal statement after her speech to the talks.
She told a news conference that the main constraints stemmed from her office having a huge mandate but funding of $21 million, less than two per cent of the UN regular budget. Most of her 250 field staff monitoring abuses worked on short-term, insecure contracts, which she found deeply troubling.
"I've certainly never felt constrained from speaking out", said Mrs Robinson, who has visited 60 countries during her term.
"I've always recognised as High Commissioner the importance of standing up to bullies, addressing short-comings and being outspoken, an awkward voice", she added.
In her speech, she said she made no apology for her outspokenness.
Mrs Robinson, who was named to the post by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, called her work extremely challenging and difficult, but at the same time incredibly rewarding.
"I am honoured to hold what must be one of the most demanding positions ever created by the international community", she added, as only the second person to serve as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
She said that above all, her goal had been acting as a voice for victims of human rights abuses.
Diplomats saw her remarks as a reference to having ruffled feathers in major capitals including Beijing and Moscow and supported UN investigations into massacres in places including Algeria and Indonesia's East Timor.
Last month, she defended herself for having worn a headscarf during a regional meeting in Tehran, part of the preparations for the conference in South Africa. She said she had worn the scarf as it was the law of Iran and had encouraged protesting women from Western non-governmental organisations to also do so.
The Geneva forum is expected to focus on alleged abuses in hotspots including China, Russia's separatist area of Chechnya, and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, where at least 426 people have died in clashes since late September.
Staff learned of Robinson's decision only early today.