Richard Falk. Photo: UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré.

JNS.org – The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) appointed pro-Palestinian Indonesian diplomat Makarim Wibisono to a new six-year term as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on “the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.”

Wibisono, who served as Indonesian ambassador to the U.N., replaces Richard Falk, who was widely criticized for his anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American views. The decision to appoint Wibisono comes after a lengthy process that saw the emergence of several candidates, including early front-runner Christina Cerna—an international human rights lawyer from Georgetown University who was seen as neutral on the Arab-Israeli conflict but was rejected by the sizable Arab-Muslim voting bloc in the UNHRC.

Wibisono has made several controversial statements on Israel. In a 2006 statement to the UNHRC, he described Israel as showing “ruthless contempt for the lives of the innocent,” and perpetrating “callous attacks against terrorized and defenseless civilians,” according to Fox News.