Xue Hanqin, a senior Chinese diplomat specializing in international law, has been elected the first chairwoman of the International Law Commission at the UN body's 62nd annual session.

Xue, 55, was director general of the Law and Treaty Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999-2003. She was first elected to the International Law Commission in 2001 and reelected in 2006.

Now Chinese Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Xue had also served as ambassador to the Kingdom of Netherlands and representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

The International Law Commission was established by the UN General Assembly in 1948 for the "promotion of the progressive development of international law and its codification." Its members are persons who possess recognized competence and qualifications in both doctrinal and practical aspects of international law.