BREAKING: our board member Youssef Mahmoud appointed by UN Secretary General

THIS JUST IN:  UN PRESS RELEASE ABOUT AN IMPORTANT INITIATIVE AT THE UN, FEATURING OUR VERY OWN BOARD MEMBER, YOUSSEF MAHMOUD!

UN SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON APPOINTS HIGH-LEVEL INDEPENDENT PANEL ON PEACE OPERATIONS

The following is extracted from a statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The world is changing and United Nations peace operations must change with it if they are to remain an indispensable and effective tool in promoting international peace and security.  That is why I am announcing today the establishment of a High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations.  I have appointed Jose Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste to chair the panel, which will draw together individuals with a wide range of experience and expertise.

The Panel will make a comprehensive assessment of the state of United Nations peace operations today and the emerging needs of the future.  It will consider a broad range of issues facing peace operations, including the changing nature of conflict, evolving mandates, good offices and peacebuilding challenges, managerial and administrative arrangements, planning, partnerships, human rights and protection of civilians, uniformed capabilities for peacekeeping operations and performance.

The last major external review of peace operations was undertaken in 2000 and led by Lakhdar Brahimi.  In addition, this will be the first such panel to examine both peacekeeping operations and special political missions.

As we approach the 15-year anniversary of the Brahimi report, we must acknowledge that peace missions today are increasingly called on to confront politically complex and challenging conflicts, often in volatile security environments where operations are directly targeted.  We must take stock of evolving expectations and consider how the Organization can most effectively advance peace, assist countries caught in conflict and ensure that our peacekeeping operations and special political missions remain strong and effective in a changing global context.

The Panel will work closely with the main United Nations departments concerned, as well as with Member States and the United Nations system as a whole.  The Panel’s recommendations to me will be available for consideration by the General Assembly at its 2015 general debate.

Members of the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations

Youssef Mahmoud (Tunisia).  Mr. Mahmoud is currently a Senior Adviser at the International Peace Institute, contributing to the Africa, Middle East and peace operations programmes and acting as focal point on mediation policies and practices.  Before retiring from the United Nations in January 2011, he was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) and, before that, Executive Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Burundi (BINUB).  He also assumed the responsibilities of Deputy Special Representative with the peacekeeping mission that preceded BINUB.  Since joining the United Nations in 1981, Mr. Mahmoud has held several senior positions, including as United Nations Resident Coordinator in Guyana and Director in the Department of Political Affairs.  He has also held posts with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia and in the Office of Human Resources Management at New York Headquarters.  Before joining the United Nations in 1981, Mr. Mahmoud was assistant professor at the University of Tunis.

Jose Ramos-Horta (Timor-Leste). A Nobel laureate, journalist and promoter of independence for Timor-Leste for 30 years. Mr. Ramos-Horta served as Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and Head of State of a newly independent Timor-Leste.  Upon leaving office, he served as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).

Jean Arnault (France). Most recently, Mr. Arnault has been a professor at Sciences Po Paris focusing on mediation and settlement of civil wars.

Abhijit Guha (India). Lieutenant General Guha is currently a member of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations/Department of Field Support Panel of Experts on Technology.

Ameerah Haq (Bangladesh). Ms. Haq currently is United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Field Support.

Andrew Hughes (Australia).  Mr. Hughes served as the United Nations Police Adviser in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations during 2007–2009.

Alexander Ilitchev (Russian Federation).  A career diplomat, Mr. Ilitchev served with the United Nations for 15 years, including as Senior Officer, Asia and Pacific Division, Team Leader for Northeast Asia and principal adviser to the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Korean Peninsula in 2003-2005.

Hilde F. Johnson (Norway).  Hilde F. Johnson served as Special Representative and Head of Mission of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and before that played a key role in the negotiations between Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) leading to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005.

Bruce Jones (Canada).  Bruce Jones is a senior fellow and deputy director of the foreign policy programme at the Brookings Institution and a consulting professor at Stanford University.

Ian Martin (United Kingdom).  Ian Martin was the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Henrietta Joy Abena Nyarko Mensa-Bonsu (Ghana).  Professor Mensa-Bonsu is the Director of Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) and a full professor of law at the Faculty of Law in the University of Ghana, Legon.

B. Lynn Pascoe (United States).  Mr. Pascoe was appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to serve as Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs in 2007–2011.

Floriano Peixoto Vieira Neto (Brazil).  Lieutenant General Floriano served as Force Commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) from 2009 to 2010.

Wang Xuexian (China). Mr. Wang serves on the Executive Board of the United Nations Association of China.

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