SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS IBRAHIMA FALL AS HIS SPECIAL

REPRESENTATIVE AND HEAD OF WEST AFRICA OFFICE

The Secretary-General announced today the appointment of Ibrahima Fall as his Special Representative and head of the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa.  Mr. Fall has, since 1997, served as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the United Nations.  Prior to this appointment, he served as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights and Director of the Centre for Human Rights in Geneva, from 1992 to 1997, and was Secretary-General of the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993.

From 1983 to 1984, Mr. Fall held the post of Minister for Higher Education of Senegal; and from 1984 to 1990 he was Minister for Foreign Affairs.  In that capacity, he was Senegal’s Chief Representative at various ministerial meetings of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations General Assembly.  In 1986, Mr. Fall was Spokesman and Ministerial Coordinator for Africa during the special session of the United Nations General Assembly devoted to the critical economic situation in Africa.

Before joining the United Nations system, Mr. Fall was, from 1972, Professor of International Public Law and Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Legal and Economic Sciences at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar.  From 1975 to 1981, he was Dean of the Faculty of the same University.

Mr. Fall was educated in Dakar and Paris.  He earned an advanced degree in Public Law in 1968, an advanced degree in Political Science in 1969, the diploma of the Institute of Political Science of Paris in 1971, and a Ph.D. in International Public Law from the University of Paris in 1972.  He received the diploma of the Academy of International Law of The Hague in 1973, and the Aggregation of Public Law and Political Science in Paris in 1974.

Mr. Fall has published a number of works on International Public Law, Constitutional Law and Political Science.  As a non-government Expert, he took part in preparing the preliminary draft of the African Charter on Human and Peoples‘ Rights of the OAU.  He also is a Founding Member and Honorary President of the Senegalese Association for African Unity.  Mr. Fall has also served as a consultant and adviser for numerous other inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Mr. Fall was born in 1942, in Tivaouane, Senegal.  He is married and has five children.