UN Chief Appoints Slovak Diplomat Jan Kubis As Special Coordinator For Lebanon

(@FahadShabbir)

UN Chief Appoints Slovak Diplomat Jan Kubis as Special Coordinator for Lebanon

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2019) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Slovak diplomat Jan Kubis to serve as his Special Coordinator for Lebanon, the United Nations said in a statement on Wednesday.

"[Guterres] today announced the appointment of Jan Kubis of Slovakia as his Special Coordinator for Lebanon," the statement said. "Mr. Kubis succeeds Acting Special Coordinator Pernille Dahler Kardel of Denmark, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedication and leadership of the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon."

Kubis has served in numerous posts during his diplomatic career, including serving as Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from 1999 to 2005; Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from 2007 to 2008; and Foreign Affairs Minister of Slovakia from 2006 to 2009.

At the United Nations, Kubis has served as Permanent Representative of Slovakia in Geneva; Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE); Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA); and headed the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan, the statement said.

The United Nations established its presence in Lebanon in 1978 under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping mission to ensure Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon and restore peace and security. In early December, UNIFIL increased security patrols at the Blue Line border to address the issue of Hezbollah cross-border tunnels dug from Lebanon to Israel.