08/10/2012, 00.00
SYRIA - UN
Send to a friend

The United Nations appoints a successor to Kofi Annan in Syria

Lakhdar Brahimi, the Algerian diplomat, will be the UN and Arab League new envoy. He has served as special envoy of war in various areas of the world. His appointment will be formally announced early next week.

New York (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, will succeed Kofi Annan to the post of UN and Arab League special envoy for the peace process in Syria. The news is not confirmed yet, but according to diplomatic sources, the appointment of Brahimi will be formally announced in the coming days, change over ceremony with Annan will be held at the end of August. The former UN secretary-general announced his resignation on August 3 last. He accused the UN Security Council of deep divisions and emphasized the growing militarization of the conflict.

Brahimi's task will be to seek a diplomatic way to end the war in Syria and bring regime and rebels of the Free Syrian Army to the negotiating table, who staunchly refuse any dialogue. After two weeks of siege, Assad's forces have captured the last quarter of Salah al-Din, one of the strategic points of Aleppo. Today the FSA rebels confirmed the withdrawal of their forces from the area.

Brahimi, 78, was the special envoy of the UN in several hotspots of the planet and has served as a mediator in many conflicts. He was foreign minister during the Algerian civil war (1991 to 1993), represented the United Nations in Afghanistan from 1997-1999 and from 2001 to 2004, and in Iraq after the 2003invasion. He retired in 2005, in 2009 he was offered to lead a group of independent experts to conduct training programs for UN staff in the world. Brahimi is part of the "Elders", a group formed by diplomats, politicians and religious leaders who meet regularly to analyze and try for mediation in countries and areas affected by conflict. The group includes former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Martti Ahtisaari, former Finnish president and Nobel Peace Laureate.

 

TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
As OPCW destroys chemical plants, Assad insists only Syrians can "decide on Syria's future"
31/10/2013
Syria welcomes Kofi Annan with more than 80 dead
10/03/2012
Syria similar to Somalia, a “failed state” with warlords all over, Brahimi said
09/06/2014
Lakhdar Brahimi, UN envoy to Syria, steps down from "mission impossible"
14/05/2014
Kofi Annan, UN and the Arab League "envoy" in Syrian crisis
24/02/2012


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”