UN Secretary-General António Guterres has announced his intention to appoint Senegalese diplomat Khassim Diagne as the new Special Representative and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
In a letter to the President of the Security Council, Guterres says that Diagne “succeeds Canadian Colin Stewart, who has completed his mission,” while also expressing “his gratitude for Colin Stewart’s dedication and effective leadership.”
Diagne has over three decades of experience in international relations and has served in senior positions at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as in peacekeeping missions in Africa and the Americas.
He currently serves as Acting UN Resident Coordinator for Development and Humanitarian Affairs in Mali. He has also served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General at UNOWAS, Deputy Special Representative at MONUSCO, and as Director in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. His career with UNHCR included postings in the United States and the Caribbean, Cameroon, Liberia, Pakistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Kenya, and Somalia.
He holds postgraduate degrees in Literature (Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar) and International Relations (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University). He speaks English, French, and Wolof.
As CNA learns, the members of the Security Council have been informed of the Secretary-General’s intention to appoint Diagne and are not expected to raise objections.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
(Source: CNA)
