UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Major General Zia Ur Rehman of Pakistan as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). Most recently, Major General Ur Rehman served as the Commander of an Infantry Brigade from 2016 to 2017 and of an Infantry Division from 2017. He succeeds Major General Xiaojun Wang of China.
Mankeur Ndiaye of Senegal has been appointed as Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Most recently, Mr. Ndiaye served as the country’s Chairman of the National Committee on Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative in Senegal. He succeeds Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon.
Karen Smith of South Africa has been appointed as Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. Ms. Smith most recently served as Associate Professor in international relations at the University of Cape Town. Ms. Smith will work under the overall guidance of Adama Dieng, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. She will succeed Ivan Šimonović of Croatia.
Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania has been appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Mr. Thiaw was most recently Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for the Sahel. He will succeed Monique Barbut of France.
