The Kabul Tribune (KT) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Bangladeshi Diplomat Rabab Fatima as the new head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and his Special Representative for Afghanistan.
Fatima succeeds Rosa Otunbayeva and assumes the role as
Afghanistan continues to face significant humanitarian, economic, and social
challenges.
The veteran diplomat brings nearly three decades of
experience in international diplomacy, human rights, sustainable development,
and peacebuilding.
Before her appointment, Fatima served as the U.N.
Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed
Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
(OHRLLS).
She also chaired UNICEF's Executive Board in 2020 and became
the first woman to chair the U.N. Peacebuilding Commission in 2022.
From 2019 to 2022, Fatima served as Bangladesh's Permanent
Representative to the United Nations in New York. Earlier in her diplomatic
career, she was Bangladesh's ambassador to Japan.
Fatima holds advanced degrees in international relations and
diplomacy from the Australian National University in Canberra and The Fletcher
School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States.
She is married and has one daughter.
