Special Representative of the Secretary-General
Encyclopedia
A Special Representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
to represent her/him in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representatives can carry out country visits to investigate allegations of human rights violations or act as negotiators on behalf of the United Nations
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United Nations Secretary-General
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
to represent her/him in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representatives can carry out country visits to investigate allegations of human rights violations or act as negotiators on behalf of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
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Current Special Representatives
Some of the Special Representatives include:- Margot WallströmMargot WallströmMargot Elisabeth Wallström is a Swedish social democratic, currently holding the job as . Prior to this post, she served as European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy...
, Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction - Radhika CoomaraswamyRadhika CoomaraswamyRadhika Coomaraswamy is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed her to the position in April 2006...
, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict - Marta Santos PaisMarta Santos PaisMarta Santos Pais is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children. She brings to this position more than 30 years experience on human rights issues, engagement in United Nations and intergovernmental processes and a firm commitment to the rights...
, Special Representative on Violence against Children - Walter KalinWalter KälinWalter Kälin is a preeminent Swiss humanitarian, constitutional lawyer, international human rights lawyer, activist, and advocate. He is also known as a legal scholar and a renowned professor...
, Special Representative on the human rights of internally displaced persons - John RuggieJohn RuggieJohn Gerard Ruggie is the Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and Affiliated Professor in International Legal Studies at Harvard Law School...
, Special Representative on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises - Farid Zarif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
- Staffan de MisturaStaffan de MisturaStaffan de Mistura is a long-serving Italian-Swedish diplomat. After a 36 year career in various UN agencies, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon appointed him as his Special Representative for Iraq on 11 September 2007...
, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) - David NabarroDavid NabarroDr. David Nabarro , works as the Senior UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza at United Nations Headquarters in New York. He has been seconded to this position from the World Health Organization.-Biography:...
, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Food Security and Nutrition, Coordinator of the High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis (HLTF)
Former Special Representatives
- Martti AhtisaariMartti AhtisaariMartti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
, for NamibiaUnited Nations Commissioner for NamibiaUnited Nations Commissioner for South-West Africa was a post created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 to assert the UN's direct responsibility for South-West Africa which was then under illegal occupation by apartheid South Africa.... - Jan PronkJan PronkJohannes "Jan" Pieter Pronk is a Dutch politician and diplomat. Currently, he is a Professor of Theory and Practice of International Development at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague....
, for SudanUnited Nations Mission in SudanThe United Nations Mission in the Sudan was established by the UN Security Council under Resolution 1590 of 24 March 2005, in response to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement on January 9, 2005 in Nairobi,... - Sergio Viera de Mello, for East TimorUnited Nations Transitional Administration in East TimorThe United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor provided an interim civil administration and a peacekeeping mission in the territory of East Timor, from its establishment on October 25, 1999 until its independence on May 20, 2002 following the outcome of the East Timor Special...
, and Iraq. - Jean ArnaultJean ArnaultJean Arnault currently serves as United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Georgia and Head of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia . He was appointed to the position by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in July 2006.He has gained much experience in working for...
, for Afghanistan - Bernard KouchnerBernard KouchnerBernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde...
, for KosovoUnited Nations Interim Administration Mission in KosovoThe United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244... - Jacques Paul Klein, for LiberiaUnited Nations Mission in LiberiaThe United Nations Mission in Liberia is a peace-keeping force established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War....
- Victor Angelo, for the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad
- Hina JilaniHina JilaniHina Jilani is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a human-rights activist from Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan.-Work:Jilani is internationally recognized for her expertise in critical human rights investigations. She started practising law in 1979, when Pakistan was under martial law...
, for Human Rights Defenders - Yash Ghai, for human rights in CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
See also
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for KosovoSpecial Representative of the Secretary-General for KosovoThe Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo is an appointed by the Secretary-General to lead the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo...
- High Representative for Bosnia and HerzegovinaHigh Representative for Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was created in 1995 immediately after the Dayton Peace Agreement to oversee the civilian implementation of this agreement. The High Representative and the OHR represent the...