Secretary-General Appoints Louise Arbour of Canada Special Representative for International Migration

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Louise Arbour of Canada as his Special Representative for International Migration.

The Special Representative will lead the follow-up to the migration-related aspects of the 19 September 2016 High-level Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.  Ms. Arbour will work with Member States, in partnership with other stakeholders, as they develop a first-ever global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration.  She will lead United Nations advocacy efforts on international migration, provide policy advice and coordinate the engagement of United Nations entities on migration issues, particularly in implementing the migration-related components of the New York Declaration.

Ms. Arbour has a long and distinguished career in international affairs.  She previously served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and as Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.  She is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.  From 2009 to 2014, Ms. Arbour was President and CEO of the International Crisis Group.

The Secretary-General would like to thank for their dedicated service and effective leadership, Peter Sutherland of Ireland, who served as Special Representative on Migration for more than 11 years from January 2006; Karen AbuZayd of the United States, who served as Special Adviser on the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants; and Izumi Nakamitsu of Japan, who has been serving as Special Adviser ad interim on the follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants since November 2016.

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*     This supersedes Press Release SG/A/866-BIO/3558 of 20 February 2004.