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New UN humanitarian chief among five senior officials appointed by Ban

New UN humanitarian chief among five senior officials appointed by Ban

Valerie Amos.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named Valerie Amos of the United Kingdom as the new United Nations humanitarian chief, one of five senior appointments announced by the world body today.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named Valerie Amos of the United Kingdom as the new United Nations humanitarian chief, one of five senior appointments announced by the world body today.

Ms. Amos, who is currently her country’s High Commissioner to Australia, will succeed John Holmes, another UK national, who has served as Under Secretary-General for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) since 2007.

“Ms. Amos brings to this position extensive background and experience coupled with well-honed leadership skills and the ability to forge consensus, coordinate delivery of results and work with diverse stakeholders,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.

He added that the Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Holmes, who also serves as UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, “for his dedicated service to the Organization and commitment to alleviating the conditions of the many peoples affected by emergency situations.”

The Secretary-General has also appointed Yuri Fedotov of Russia as the new Executive Director of the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), replacing Antonio Maria Costa of Italy, who has served in that post since 2002.

In his new position, Mr. Fedotov – currently Russia’s Ambassador to the UK and a former deputy foreign minister – will also serve as the Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna (UNOV).

Also announced today were senior-level appointees at UN peacekeeping operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Timor-Leste and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Ndolamb Ngokwey, a national of the DRC, will serve as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General at the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), where he will also act as UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator.

Mr. Ngokwey will replace Georg Charpentier, who was appointed Deputy Special Representative, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

Shigeru Mochida of Japan will succeed countryman Takahisa Kawakami as Deputy Special Representative for Security Sector Support and Rule of Law of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). Mr. Kawakami passed away on 15 March this year.

In addition, Lieutenant-General Chander Prakash of India has been appointed as the Force Commander for the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC, known by its French acronym as MONUSCO, where he will succeed Lieutenant-General Babacar Gaye of Senegal.