I will continue to work wholeheartedly for human rights... I believe that I can achieve more outside of the constraints that a multilateral organisation inevitably imposes

Mary Robinson

Former Irish President Mrs Robinson said that she thought she could achieve more outside the "constraints" of the UN.

She described the resources available to her office as inadequate and said there was a striking contrast between the fine words used at the annual UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva and the realities on the ground.

Her announcement came as a surprise to senior staff and diplomats who had believed she might follow the example of other UN chiefs and seek a second term.

Mrs Robinson, only the second person to serve in the post, is scheduled to step down in September at the end of her four-year term.

"I will continue to work wholeheartedly for human rights in the way that I know best, as an advocate.

"I believe that I can, at this stage, achieve more outside of the constraints that a multilateral organisation inevitably imposes," Mrs Robinson said.

Outsider

Mrs Robinson told the 53-member nation commission at the start of its six-week session: "I know some will feel that I should have sought to continue working from within the United Nations and I ask them to respect my decision."

Robinson biography

21 May 1944: Born in County Mayo, Ireland 1969: Appointed Reid Professor of Constitutional and Criminal Law - Trinity College, Dublin 1969-89: Member of the Irish Upper House of Parliament 1988: Co-founds the Irish Centre for European Law 1990: First woman to become President of Ireland 1997: Appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Mrs Robinson has been a high-profile and outspoken UN commissioner, on occasion angering governments with criticism of their human rights record.

She said UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, had advised her to "stay an outsider" while working within the organisation in as far as she could.

And this, said Mrs Robinson, had at times made her "an awkward voice", both for colleagues in the UN and governments.

"I make no apology for this," she added.

Mrs Robinson's mandate expires after the World Conference against Racism, to be held in South Africa from 31 August to 7 September.

"Racism and xenophobia, manifesting themselves through discrimination and all forms of intolerance, are the wellspring of many of the world's conflicts," Mrs Robinson said in her address to the commission.

The forum which opened in Geneva is expected to focus on alleged human rights abuses in hotspots including China, the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip.