The United Nations chief told rights advocates Friday that his choice to be the next U.N. human rights commissioner is a South African judge who was the first black woman to serve on her country's High Court, the director of Human Rights Watch said.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had selected Navanethem Pillay for the job, but he had not yet taken official action, said Kenneth Roth, who was among a dozen representatives from human rights groups who met with Ban.

"Ban described her as the presumptive nominee," Roth said.

Ban's office is expected to announce her appointment early next week, said U.N. and diplomatic officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment had not yet been announced.

Pillay, who is now an appeals chamber judge with the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, must be approved by U.N. General Assembly.

Some nations, such as the U.S., have expressed reservations about Pillay, including how she might handle next year's follow-up to the 2001 U.N. racism conference in South Africa, which drew controversy due to anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli stands.

Some rights groups have questioned whether Pillay could be an effective, outspoken champion of human rights, officials said.

One diplomat expressed skepticism that Pillay would be confirmed, but others said her nomination was not expected to meet any significant opposition in the General Assembly.

Pillay would succeed Louise Arbour, a former Supreme Court judge in Canada, as human rights commissioner, one of the most high-profile positions at the United Nations. Continued...