UN chief appoints Bangladesh’s Rabab Fatima as new Afghanistan mission head

ISLAMABAD: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed veteran Bangladeshi diplomat Rabab Fatima as his new Special Representative for Afghanistan and the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). In this role, she will lead the UN's diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in the country.

A statement on the UNAMA website said that Fatima succeeds Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgyzstan, who led the mission through a period marked by political uncertainty and a worsening humanitarian crisis. 

It added, “Guterres thanked Otunbayeva for her dedicated service and also acknowledged Georgette Gagnon of Canada, who served as Officer-in-Charge of UNAMA during the transition.”

The new appointment comes just one month after the UN Security Council unanimously renewed UNAMA’s mandate for another year, reaffirming the mission’s central role in supporting peace, human rights, humanitarian assistance and engagement with Afghanistan’s de facto authorities.

Fatima brings more than 30 years of experience in diplomacy, international policymaking and multilateral cooperation.

She currently serves as the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Before joining the UN Secretariat, she was Bangladesh’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2019 to 2022. 

During her tenure, she chaired the Executive Boards of UNICEF and UN Women and became the first woman elected Chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission in 2022. 

She also served as a Vice-President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

A career diplomat, Fatima has represented Bangladesh in Japan and held diplomatic postings in New York, Geneva, Beijing and Kolkata. She also served with the International Organization for Migration and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Fatima holds a master’s degree in international relations and diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and speaks Bangla and English, with working knowledge of Hindi and Urdu. 

Her appointment takes effect as the UN continues efforts to address Afghanistan’s humanitarian and political challenges.