Secretary-General Appoints Lieutenant General Otávio Rodrigues De Miranda Filho of Brazil Force Commander for United Nations Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Otávio Rodrigues de Miranda Filho of Brazil as Force Commander for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Lieutenant General Miranda Filho succeeds Lieutenant General Marcos de Sá Affonso da Costa of Brazil, who will complete his assignment on 28 February.  The Secretary-General is deeply grateful to Lieutenant General Affonso da Costa for his important contribution and service to MONUSCO.

Lieutenant General Miranda Filho has several years of experience in command-and-control structures in the Brazilian Army.  Since August 2021, he has been serving as Military Region Commander (north Brazil), in charge of a large logistical and administrative command, supplying 32 military organizations in the legal Amazon and responsible for the selection and integration of all temporary military personnel in the Area of Responsibility.  Prior to that, he served as Head of International Affairs in the Brazil Defence Forces.

Lieutenant General Miranda Filho has also held several other command positions, including Brigade Commander in the Ninth Motorized Infantry Brigade from 2018 to 2019 and Chief of Staff of the Planalto Military Command from 2016 to 2018.  He also has international experience, having served as Military Attaché of the Brazilian Embassy in China from 2014 to 2016.

Lieutenant General Miranda Filho holds a bachelor’s degree in military sciences from Das Aghulas Negras Military Academy in Brazil and completed several military trainings in the Army Command and General Staff Colleges of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish and is proficient in French.