Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima. File Photo

DHAKA, July 16, 2026 (BSS) - United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Bangladesh's Rabab Fatima as his Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Fatima succeeds Roza Otunbayeva, former President and Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for her dedicated service.

The Secretary-General also thanked Georgette Gagnon of Canada, Deputy Special Representative of UNAMA, who has been serving as Officer-in-Charge of the mission, according to an announcement issued by the UN Headquarters.

Currently serving as the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), Fatima brings more than three decades of experience in national and international civil service.

Her experience spans bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, policymaking, advocacy, programme planning and implementation.

Before assuming her current UN post, Fatima served as Bangladesh's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2019 to 2022.
During her tenure, she served as President of the Executive Boards of UNICEF in 2020 and UN Women in 2022, while also serving as Vice-President of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board in 2021.

In 2022, she became the first woman to be elected Chair of the United Nations Peace building Commission. She also served as a Vice-President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

Earlier, Fatima served as Bangladesh's Ambassador to Japan between 2016 and 2019 and as Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2016.

Her diplomatic career also includes assignments at Bangladesh's missions in New York, Geneva, Beijing and Kolkata, as well as various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She also served with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 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.

Prior to joining IOM, she headed the Human Rights Unit at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London during 2006-2007.

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, Australia.

Besides her native Bangla, she is fluent in English and has working knowledge of Hindi and Urdu.