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The United Nations has appointed Rabab Fatima as its Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA. Her selection places a seasoned Bangladeshi diplomat in charge of the UN mission at a critical time.
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Unitednations,UPDATED: Jul 16, 2026 10:40 IST
The United Nations has appointed senior Bangladeshi diplomat Rabab Fatima as the new head of its mission in Afghanistan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres named Fatima as his Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, according to a statement issued on Wednesday.
Fatima is the former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations and currently serves as Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. She will succeed Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgyzstan.
The UN said Fatima brings to the role at UNAMA "over 30 years of experience in national and international civil service, encompassing bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, policymaking, advocacy, programme planning and implementation". She served as Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2019 to 2022.
During her tenure in New York, she was President of the UNICEF Executive Board in 2020 and the UN-Women Executive Board in 2022. She also served as Vice-President of the Executive Board of the UN Development Programme, UN Population Fund and UN Office for Project Services in 2021. In 2022, she became the first woman to be elected Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission and also served as a Vice-President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
Earlier, Fatima was Bangladesh's ambassador to Japan from 2016 to 2019 and Director-General in the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2016. She also held diplomatic assignments in Bangladesh's missions in New York, Geneva, Beijing and Kolkata. She served at the Organisation for Migration as Regional Adviser for South and South-West Asia and Regional Adviser for Climate Change and Migration from 2012 to 2015, and as Regional Representative for South Asia from 2007 to 2011. She was also Head of Human Rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London from 2006 to 2007.
Fatima holds a master's degree in international relations and diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States and a bachelor's degree in social science from the University of Canberra in Australia. She speaks Bangla and English and has a working knowledge of Hindi and Urdu. With her appointment, the UN has placed an experienced Bangladeshi diplomat at the head of its Afghanistan mission.
With PTI Inputs
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Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jul 16, 2026 10:40 IST
