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UN Chief Appoints New Political Deputy for UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Canadian diplomat Georgette Gagnon as the new political deputy for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

In a statement on Tuesday, September 3, the UN announced the appointment, noting that Ms. Gagnon brings extensive experience in various fields, including several years of service in Afghanistan.

Ms. Gagnon will succeed Markus Potzel of Germany, who has served in this position since June 2022.

“Ms. Gagnon brings to the position more than 28 years of experience in supporting peacebuilding processes and leading strategic initiatives on human rights, humanitarian action, and development in conflict and post-conflict settings,” the UN said in the statement.

“Since 2021, Ms. Gagnon has served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya in the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya,” it added.

According to the UN statement, she also served as Director of Human Rights for UNAMA in Kabul from 2010 to 2015 and has worked in other UN offices across Africa, Syria, and the Balkans.

This appointment comes at a time when Afghanistan’s political landscape remains fractured, and the human rights and humanitarian situation has been deteriorating since the Taliban’s return to power.

UNAMA, which also represents the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is facing significant challenges in dealing with an extremist regime accused of widespread human rights violations, particularly against women and girls.

In its three years of rule in Afghanistan, the Taliban has not met any of the UN’s conditions or its obligations concerning human rights, severing ties with terrorist groups, or forming an inclusive political structure, and there is no indication of their willingness to do so in the future.

The majority of Taliban leaders do not uphold human rights values, especially those related to women and girls, viewing them as Western concepts that conflict with their interpretation of Islamic values and Afghanistan culture.

Recently, the Taliban barred the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, from entering the country, accusing him of providing “inaccurate and misleading” reports to the UN and the international community.

Mr. Bennett was appointed to this role by the UN Human Rights Council in April 2022, in response to the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return to power.

However, as mandated by the UN Security Council, UNAMA continues to monitor and report on human rights conditions in Afghanistan while maintaining direct engagement with the Taliban.

Roza Otunbayeva, the head of UNAMA and UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, is scheduled to report to and brief the Security Council on Afghanistan in the next two weeks.