Hina Jilani, a Pakistani human rights lawyer has been appointed to a new United Nations position set up to monitor and protect human rights activists across the world, a UN spokesman has announced. Secretary general Kofi Annan named her to the post created in April by the commission on human rights in Geneva, to protect the human rights defenders who are often harassed and threatened by the governments. Jilani, the first special representative for human rights defenders, has been appointed initially for three years and designated as secretary general's special representative on human rights defenders. The UN spokesman said that Jilani's work had been prominent in setting the standard for human rights in Pakistan, which she has been actively involved in since 1980. She has also served as an expert in UN high commissioner for refugees and the UN development fund for women. Bureau Report