Secretary-General Appoints Jean Arnault of France Personal Envoy on Afghanistan and Regional Issues

SG/A/2029*

17 March 2021

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Jean Arnault of France as his Personal Envoy on Afghanistan and Regional Issues. The Secretary-General has asked Mr. Arnault to assist in the achievement of a political solution to the conflict, working closely with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and regional partners.

Mr. Arnault brings more than 30 years of experience in international diplomacy, focusing on peace settlements and mediation, and an extensive background in United Nations missions in Africa, Asia — including Afghanistan — Europe and Latin America.

His most recent assignments included Delegate of the Secretary-General to the Colombia peace talks and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Colombia, between 2015 and 2018; and Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Bolivia, from 2019 to 2020.

Mr. Arnault, a philosophy graduate of the Sorbonne Paris 1, was a professor at the Paris School of International Affairs from 2012 until 2014.

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* This supersedes Press Release SG/A/1642 of 9 March 2016.

Afghanistan

Daily Noon Briefing

22 April 2024

A report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) states that explosive weapons were responsible for nearly half of the more than 47,500 children killed or maimed in more than 24 different conflict zones between 2018 and 2022. The vast majority of these instances occurred in populated areas.