The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Friday welcomed the appointment of Gillian Triggs as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection to oversee the agency’s international protection work for millions of refugees, internally displaced, stateless and other people of concern.

The Australian will take over from Volker Türk who left UNHCR in July to assume the position of Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination at the United Nations in New York.

Triggs was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and is expected to assume her new role soon.

Grandi, while announcing Triggs’ appointment, noted that she comes to the UN Refugee Agency after recently completing a five-year term as President of the Australian Human Rights Commission. She is currently Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow and Emeritus Professor at the University of Melbourne.

“Gillian Triggs brings to UNHCR extensive expertise, knowledge and vast experience in international refugee protection that will contribute enormously to our efforts to protect, assist and find solutions for those forced by violence and persecution to flee their homes,” Grandi said. “At this challenging time when displacement globally is at record levels, this appointment reaffirms our commitment to international protection as the core of all of UNHCR’s work on behalf of the world’s refugees, displaced and stateless people.”