Appointments

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Han Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea as his Special Envoy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Water.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Shamshad Akhtar of Pakistan as the Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, following consultations with the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), announced today the appointment of Pierre Krähenbühl of Switzerland as the Agency’s new Commissioner-General. He will replace Filippo Grandi.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Juan Somavía of Chile, former Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), as his Special Adviser on Interregional Policy Cooperation.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Michael Møller of Denmark as Acting Head of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), replacing Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his outstanding contribution and commitment in spearheading the Organization’s work.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Fatiha Serour (Algeria) as his Deputy Special Representative for Somalia. The Secretary-General extends his sincere thanks to Peter de Clercq of the Netherlands, who served as Deputy Special Representative since the establishment of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), and was recently appointed Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed M’Baye Babacar Cissé of Senegal as his Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), where he will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, following consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), announced today the appointment of Monique Barbut of France as Executive Secretary of the UNCCD. She will replace Luc Gnacadja. The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for Mr. Gnacadja’s outstanding contribution and commitment in spearheading the Organization’s work.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Iván Velásquez Gómez of Colombia as Commissioner of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), established under an agreement between the United Nations Organization and the State of Guatemala that entered into force on 4 September 2007.