United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Wednesday the appointment of Khassim Diagne of Senegal as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
A press release issued by Guterres’ office and read out during Wednesday’s briefing by Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that Diagne succeeds Colin Stewart of Canada, “to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for his strong leadership and dedicated service throughout his tenure.”
It further noted that Diagne brings more than 25 years of experience in international affairs and senior leadership within the United Nations system. 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, he served as 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 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).
Moreover, Diagne served as Director of the Political, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Human Rights Unit in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (2017-2021). He was also Regional Representative, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the United States and the Caribbean (2017), UNHCR Representative in Cameroon (2015-2016) and Liberia (2014-2015), and Deputy Representative in Pakistan (2009-2011). 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 Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Kenya and Somalia.
He 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, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
