Ban appoints senior officials for missions in Afghanistan, Cote d’Ivoire

{UN chief Ban Ki-moon Tuesday announced the appointment of two senior officials for the UN missions in Afghanistan and Cote d’Ivoire.}

Japanese diplomat Tadamichi Yamamoto was appointed as Ban’s Deputy Special Representative for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Yamamoto, an experienced diplomat, was Japan’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2010 to 2012. He will succeed Nicholas Haysom of South Africa.

UNAMA is a political mission established in 2002 at the request of Afghanistan to assist it and its people in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development in the country.

Meanwhile, Ban named Simon Munzu of Cameroon, a veteran UN official, as his Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI).

“Munzu brings to this position a wealth of political, human rights, legal, academic, and management experience from a career spanning more than thirty years,” a statement from the UN spokesperson’s office said.

Munzu has worked for the UN in Rwanda, New York, Cote d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Agencies