Secretary-General Appoints Izumi Nakamitsu of Japan Special Adviser Ad Interim on Follow-up to Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees, Migrants

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Izumi Nakamitsu of Japan as Special Adviser ad interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants, which was held on 19 September.  For the next three months, Ms. Nakamitsu will undertake these duties on a part-time basis in addition to and separate from her current responsibilities as Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator for Crisis Response at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Special Adviser will support the follow-up to the 19 September Summit and coordinate the engagement of United Nations entities, in particular on the implementation of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, and support Member States in fulfilling their commitments in this regard.

Ms. Nakamitsu has many years of distinguished service within and outside the United Nations system, including as Director, Asia and the Middle East Division and Director, Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training, Department of Peacekeeping Operations.  Earlier in her career, she held a number of positions in the United Nations system, both at Headquarters and in the field, including in the United Nations Reform Team of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) field operations in the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and northern Iraq.

Ms. Nakamitsu succeeds Karen AbuZayd of the United States, who completed her assignment on 31 October.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Ms. AbuZayd’s dedicated service and effective leadership at in support of the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.

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*     This supersedes Press Release SG/A/1510-BIO/4638-DEV/3119 of 18 September 2014.