UN chief appoints a Sudanese diplomat as his deputy Special envoy for Somalia

New York – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Wednesday the appointment of Adam Abdelmoula of Sudan (as well as a national of the United States) as his Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, where he will also serve as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

He will succeed George Conway of Canada who served as Acting Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator since April 2019 and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and service in Somalia.

Currently Director of the United Nations Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Divisions at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Abdelmoula brings over thirty years of experience in development, rule of law, human rights, and security.

From 2013 to 2016, he served as Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq, and from 2010 to 2013 as Resident Coordinator in Kuwait and Syria.

In his earlier career, Mr. Abdelmoula served as the Chief of the Middle East and North Africa Section in OHCHR and held various assignments with the United Nations in Liberia, Iraq, and Somalia.

Abdelmoula holds an LL.B. in Common Law and Islamic Law from the University of Khartoum, an LL.M. in International Law from Harvard Law School, and a PhD in Public International Law from Georgetown University.