Doru Romulus Costea is best known as President of the United Nations Human Rights Council

United Nations Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...

. Costea served as President from 19 June 2007 to 18 June 2008. His main task was to initiate the Universal Periodic Review of the human rights records of the then 192 member states of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

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Personal details

Costea was born 22 September 1953 at Cehul Silvaniei, Salaj, Romania. Married, he has one son and one daughter.

Education

Costea attended the University of Bucharest where his principal studies were Arabic and English. (He also speaks French.) He took a one-year post-graduate course in International Law at the Academy of Political Science.

Career

In 1976, Costea was briefly a desk officer for PRODEXPORT Foreign Trade Company. From 1976 to 1989, he was an interpreter at the International Center for Political Studies. In 1990, he became the Deputy Director for the Department of Middle East and North Africa in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1991 to 1995, he served as Romania's ambassador to the State of Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman. From 1995 to 1997, he was the Director of the Policy Planning Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1997 to 2001, he served as Romania's ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt. From 2001 to 2003, Costea was the Director of the Department of Analysis and Information in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In December 2003, he became the Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations office and to international organizations in Geneva.

United Nations Human Rights Council

The Council appointed Costea to be its president at the same time as it approved a set of procedures known as the Universal Periodic Review. In September 2007, Costea took part in the selection of the first countries to be reviewed. During Costea's presidency, the Council considered the political situations in Myanmar, Darfur, Liberia, Sudan, Israel, and Somalia; the Council discussed the "world food crisis"; the Council received the first reports produced under the Universal Periodic Review; the Council held a general debate on racism and racial discrimination, and discussed the follow-up to The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.