New york: United Nations Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres announced the appointment of Khassim Diagne of Senegal as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
According to Cyprus News Agency, a press release issued by Guterres’ office, and read out during Wednesday’s briefing by Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, stated that Diagne succeeds Colin Stewart of Canada. The Secretary-General expressed gratitude for Stewart’s leadership and service during his tenure.
The press release highlighted Diagne’s extensive experience in international affairs and leadership within the United Nations system, spanning over 25 years. He is currently serving as Ad Interim United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Mali, a role he has held since October 2024. Earlier in 2024, Diagne was the Ad Interim Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS). From 2021 to 2024, he was the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Protection and Operations with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Diagne also held the position of Director of the Political, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Human Rights Unit in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General between 2017 and 2021. He has served as the Regional Representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the United States and the Caribbean in 2017, and as the UNHCR Representative in Cameroon from 2015 to 2016 and in Liberia from 2014 to 2015. He was the Deputy Representative in Pakistan from 2009 to 2011. Between 2011 and 2013, he was Head of the Governance and Partnership Service and Secretary of the Executive Committee at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva. Earlier in his career, he worked with UNHCR in C´te d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Kenya, and Somalia.
Diagne holds a Master of Arts in Modern Languages from Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Senegal, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, United States. He is fluent in English, French, and Wolof. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 after Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-led peace talks have yet to produce results, with the latest negotiations in July 2017 at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, ending without resolution.