THE HAGUE, 24/03/07 - Former Foreign Minister Ben Bot is in the running for the post of High Commissioner for National Minorities at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The cabinet has proposed Bot for the post to Spain, currently chairing the OSCE, a foreign ministry spokesman confirmed Friday. As far as is known, Bot faces six rivals.

The High Commission for National Minorities (HCNM) was set up in 1992. Dutchman Max van der Stoel was the first Commissioner up to 2001, after which a Swede, Rolf Ekeus, headed the HCNM.