Over the years, Mr Van der Stoel has achieved something remarkable: a modicum of trust between would-be warring parties on many of the ragged edges of Europe.
Many Estonians claim that, whenever they soften one aspect of a law meant to make ethnic Russians prove a knowledge of Estonian if they want citizenship, Mr Van der Stoel comes up with another objection.
But Mr Van der Stoel's mandate precludes him from seeking to put out fires that have already started burning, so minorities such as Kurds in Turkey, Basques in Spain and Catholics in Northern Ireland are off his beat.