UN Chief Appoints Swiss Diplomat Lazzarini To Head Palestine Refugees Agency - Spokesman

Umer Jamshaid Published March 18, 2020 | 11:25 PM

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Swiss diplomat Philippe Lazzarini to serve as Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Wednesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2020) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Swiss diplomat Philippe Lazzarini to serve as Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

"Guterres, following consultations with the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, today announced the appointment of Philippe Lazzarini of Switzerland as the agency's new Commissioner-General," Dujarric said.

Lazzarini has held the position of Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon in the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon since 2015.

He also served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.

Before joining the United Nations in 2003, Lazzarini served for ten years with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Rwanda, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Southern Sudan, Jordan, Gaza and Lebanon.

Guterres extended his appreciation to Christian Saunders, who has been serving as UNRWA's Acting Commissioner-General since the departure of the agency's former head, Pierre Krahenbuhl, the spokesman added.

In November, Krahenbuhl resigned following an internal investigation probing alleged misconduct by him and other UNRWA senior staff.