On 23 March 2012,
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (United States) was elected the Independent Expert by the Human Rights Council, after being nominated by its President
Laura Dupuy Lasserre, the
Permanent Representative of
Uruguay.[2][3] The other nominated candidates were
Miloon Kothari (India),
Vugar Mammadov (Azerbaijan) and
Jean Ziegler (Switzerland).[4] De Zayas presented his first report to the UN Human Rights Council at its 21st session in September 2012, calling for uniform application of international law.[5][6][7] He presented his interim report to the General Assembly on 2 November 2012 [8] and will present his new report to the council during the 24th session in September 2013.[9]
United Nations special rapporteurs bear mandates from the
United Nations Human Rights Council and may hold the titles special rapporteur, independent expert or special representative of the Secretary-General, and are also referred to simply as mandate-holders.