Prof. Ivan Šimonović, Croatian diplomat and university professor in the field of law, has been elected to the UN’s most prestigious expert body in the field of human rights: United Nations Human Rights Committee. The Committee monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by 174 member states that are signatories to the Covenant. Comprising 18 independent experts, the committee selects its members based on their expertise in human rights and their high moral standing.
Prof. Ivan Šimonović is the current Croatian ambassador to the UN since 2019, and he held that position also from 1996 to 2002. He has held numerous other high-ranking positions in the country and abroad. Among other things, he was the Agent of the Republic of Croatia before the International Court of Justice in the lawsuit against Serbia for genocide from 2000 to 2010, UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights from 2010 to 2016, and Special Adviser of the UN Secretary General on Responsibility to Protect from 2016 to 2018. He was also the president of the UN Economic and Social Council, and the chairman of the UN Peacebuilding Commission. In Croatia, he held the position of Minister of Justice and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Since 1986, prof. Šimonović has been employed at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb. During his university career as a legal theory professor, he held, among others, the positions of Head of the Department of Legal Theory, Vice-dean of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb and Vice-rector of the University of Zagreb. He currently holds the position of General Director of the Dubrovnik Interuniversity Centre. He is a member of the World and European Academy of Sciences and Arts.
