UN Appoints Rabab Fatima as New Afghanistan Envoy

DID Press: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed veteran Bangladeshi diplomat Rabab Fatima as his Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Fatima succeeds Roza Otunbayeva, the Kyrgyz diplomat who led UNAMA since 2022. Guterres thanked Otunbayeva for her service and also expressed appreciation to Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s Canadian Deputy Special Representative, who led the mission during the transitional period.

According to the United Nations, Rabab Fatima is a senior Bangladeshi diplomat with extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy and cooperation with UN institutions. She previously served as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and became the first woman to chair the UN Peacebuilding Commission. She also served as Vice-President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

Her appointment comes as Afghanistan continues to face major political, economic and humanitarian challenges, with UNAMA playing a key role in coordinating humanitarian assistance, engaging with Afghan authorities and monitoring the human rights situation in the country.

Before the official announcement, diplomatic sources had reported that the UN Secretary-General was preparing to appoint Fatima as the new head of UNAMA.