The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, yesterday in Geneva vowed to dedicate her new role to building bridges between north and south, referring to the developed and developing worlds, while standing up for victims of injustice.
"I think I can be a bridgebuilder. I wish to be, but I have made it very clear that I do intend to speak out, I do intend to address situations, I do intend to stand up to bullies," Mrs Robinson told her first news conference since taking up the UN's highest human rights job.
The former President of Ireland, who stepped down last Friday to take up her new post, explained she would seek to broaden the definition of human rights to embrace the political, civil, social and economic realms.
A wider perspective, she insisted, would help narrow what she called a strong sense of division between the north and south in their perceptions of human rights issues.
"It is my impression that gulf is wider if the perception of human rights is narrowed. If there is a broader spectrum, there is common ground in a number of areas," Mrs Robinson said.
"My approach is to seek out where, importantly, there is common ground," Mrs Robinson continued, adding she felt her Irishness - "the fact that Ireland has a different experience than many other European countries" - would help her pursue the challenge.
Mrs Robinson earlier this week pledged to act as an outspoken moral voice for victims of torture and injustice worldwide.
Barely a week into her job, Mrs Robinson (53) already faces some daunting dossiers, with Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda the most obvious candidates for pressing attention.
She said she was already "addressing" the situation in DRC, where a UN-led mission has once again been blocked by the government from investigating mass killings of Rwandan Hutu refugees. "I attach the greatest importance to the work of the team and am deeply troubled by the difficulties it has encountered," she said.
She said violation of human rights in Cambodia was a priority area and she would bring up the matter in New York, where she flies on Sunday to attend two weeks of UN General Assembly debate.
The commissioner revealed a humorous streak during her briefing.
"Being Irish, I have no desire to build an empire," she said in response to a question on how she intends to work at Geneva headquarters.
"I'm conscious of the importance of someone who comes from outside of the UN structure of working with the system but also of making the system work on behalf of human rights."