[4] In 2019, Zeid was invited to join The Elders, an independent group of global leaders working for peace, justice and human rights founded by Nelson Mandela.

[5] He is the son of Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid, Lord Chamberlain of Jordan, and Swedish-born Margaretha Inga Elisabeth Lind, subsequently known as Majda Raad.

With reference to the International Criminal Court, and from 1996 to 2010, he was: Whilst at the UN, he further chaired the Consultative Committee for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) from 2004 to 2007, and, in 2004, was named Advisor to the Secretary-General on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping.

[14] On 6 June 2014, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed that Zeid replace Navi Pillay as the United Nations' human rights chief based in Geneva.

[16] In that capacity he has stated: "There is no justification ever, for the degrading, the debasing or the exploitation of other human beings – on whatever basis: nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age or caste.

"[17] On 8 September 2014, in his maiden speech to the UN's 47-member Human Rights Council at the body's 27th session in Geneva, Zeid strongly criticized the so-called Islamic State group, saying it was trying to create a "house of blood".

'In this way, from Catholic parochial schools to the most secular public institutions, and indeed Islamic madrassahs, children could learn — even in kindergarten — and experience the fundamental human rights values of equality, justice and respect.

Sadly, they must learn that the Zeppelin Field, the shadow of Buchenwald, the glint of the machete and the horror of life today in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Central African Republic and elsewhere – wherever we live, they are never that far away.

"[21] He said that the United States had an obligation under international law to prosecute all those responsible for CIA torture, from those who carried out interrogations to policy-makers and higher-ups who gave the orders.

[24][25] On 27 April of that year, Zeid criticized a column in The Sun written by Katie Hopkins for using the term "cockroaches" to refer to migrants, describing it as akin to propaganda used by the Nazis and the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide against their victims.

[27] In October 2016, he said: "The Human Rights Council’s inability to take decisive action by setting up an international investigation is contributing to a climate of impunity, and violations continue to occur on a regular basis.

Zeid said he was "not keen or intent on interfering in any political campaign within any particular country", adding the caveat that when an election could result in an increase in the use of torture (especially waterboarding) "or the focus on vulnerable communities in a way that suggests that they may well be deprived of their human rights, then I think it is incumbent to say so".

[citation needed] Duterte spokesperson Harry Roque responded by saying "Perhaps, the UN High Commissioner's language is because of the fact that they do not have democracy in his home state of Jordan.

[39] By the time he ended his service as High Commissioner, one journalist reported that because Zeid was famously blunt and spared no one, his speeches and statements were eagerly awaited by the Geneva press corps.

[40] On 27 May 2020, Zeid Raad Al Hussein was invited to and gave special remarks at his alma mater Johns Hopkins University's 2020 Commencement ceremony.

[41] Other notable guest speakers during the virtual ceremony included Reddit co-founder and Commencement speaker Alexis Ohanian; philanthropist and former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg; Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force; and senior class president Pavan Patel.

[citation needed] Zeid's younger brother, Mired bin Ra'ad, is the Chairman of the National Commission for Demining and Rehabilitation of Jordan, and Special Envoy[44] of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, or Ottawa Treaty, which seeks to eliminate the use of landmines.