Rabab Fatima Appointed as UN Special Representative for Afghanistan
The United Nations announced that António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the organization, has appointed Bangladeshi diplomat Rabab Fatima as his Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). She succeeds Kyrgyz diplomat Roza Otunbayeva.
The UN spokesperson’s office, in a press release, expressed appreciation for Ms. Otunbayeva’s committed service during her tenure. They also acknowledged the work of Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s Deputy Head who is currently acting as the mission chief in Afghanistan.
According to the UN statement, Rabab Fatima has over three decades of experience in national and international public service. Her professional background includes bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, policy-making, advocacy, and program design and implementation. Previously, she served as the Deputy Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States.
From 2019 to 2022, Ms. Fatima was Bangladesh’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. During this period, she chaired the Executive Board of UNICEF in 2020 and UN Women in 2022. In 2021, she also served as Vice-Chair of the Executive Board for the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, and the UN Office for Project Services.
The UN press release further noted that she was the first woman elected in 2022 as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission. Additionally, she served as one of the Vice-Presidents of the seventy-seventh session of the UN General Assembly.
