Senior UN official appointed to executive post at UNICEF

The head of the United Nations plan to refurbish its New York headquarters has been appointed the Deputy Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), effective from 1 March.

Toshiyuki Niwa of Japan, who was the head of the UN's Capital Master Plan Project, will have responsibility for several key areas of UNICEF, including finance and management, human resources and information technology. He will also be responsible for UNICEF's relations with the rest of the UN and its inter-governmental work.

Mr. Niwa was previously the Assistant Secretary-General for Central Support Services, and held senior posts at the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

A new head of the Capital Master Plan Project will be announced shortly, a UN spokesman said today.