New York – United Nations Secretary-General on Thursday appointed Rabab Fatima of Bangladesh as his Special Representative in Afghanistan and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), succeeding Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgyzstan.
According to a statement from the UN Secretary-General’s press and media department, Fatima currently serves as Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States. She has also served as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN and as ambassador to several countries.
Fatima was the first woman elected to chair the UN Peacebuilding Commission in 2022. She also served as Vice-President of the seventy-seventh session of the UN General Assembly.
Fatima is expected to draw on her extensive diplomatic experience to lead UNAMA and continue the UN’s efforts to support Afghanistan, which still faces major humanitarian and development challenges, as well as issues of long-term stability.