UN chief appoints Russian diplomat to oversee mine action and police

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Russian ambassador Gleb Desyatnikov as Assistant Secretary-General for Mine Action and Police in the Department of Peace Operations.

Source: the UN Secretary-General's office

Details: Desyatnikov will lead the division responsible for coordinating the UN's mine action activities and police contingents serving in peacekeeping missions around the world.

The organisation said the diplomat has "more than 35 years of experience in international relations, political affairs and security issues across government, multilateral diplomacy and conflict-affected regions".

He has served as Russia's ambassador to Jordan since 2018. Before that, from 2010 to 2018, he was deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Earlier, he worked as a senior adviser on Middle East and North Africa affairs at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in New York from 2004 to 2010. Between 1994 and 1997, he was seconded to the UN Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM). Desyatnikov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and speaks English and Arabic.

Background:

• In April 2017, António Guterres appointed another Russian representative, Alexandre Zouev, as Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Zuev's portfolio included key areas such as the UN peacekeeping police, justice reform, prison systems and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
• In March 2022, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops. At the time, Ukrainian diplomats urged the UN Secretariat to remove Russian citizens from senior and sensitive security-related positions.
• In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. That same month, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry posted a report documenting evidence of widespread torture, executions of civilians and sexual violence committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
• In addition, Russian military structures and private military companies have repeatedly contributed to the closure of UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, including in Mali and the Central African Republic, where they support military juntas and have been named in human rights reports concerning mass killings of civilians.
• In April 2024, UN bodies and the Ukrainian government stated that Ukraine had become the most heavily mined country in the world. As a result of the actions of the Russian military, more than 156,000 sq km of Ukrainian territory require surveying and clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance.

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