HIBAPRESS
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, announced the appointment of the Finn Pekka Haavisto as the new Personal Envoy to Sudan, succeeding the Algerian Ramtane Lamamra, due to demands for the latter's dismissal due to alleged bias towards one of the parties to the conflict.
The decision comes in response to the recent political divisions over Lamamra's performance, as a group of Sudanese political, civil and diplomatic figures demanded his dismissal, considering that he had not succeeded in addressing the use of humanitarian aid as a tool in the conflict, nor had he created a feasible peace process, and accusing him of bias towards the Sudanese army. Despite the move by political and civil organizations to express their support for the former Algerian Foreign Minister, the UN Secretary-General decided to act and respond to the demands for dismissal, by appointing Haavisto, who has more than 40 years of experience in politics and international affairs. Haavisto previously held several ministerial positions in Finland and senior roles with the European Union and the United Nations, and was the Finnish Foreign Minister between 2019 and 2023, and President of the European Institute of Peace from 2016 to 2019. The Finnish diplomat also worked in mediation and negotiation operations in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, and worked as a consultant to the United Nations in crisis management and peace operations in Africa and the Middle East, including Darfur and Sudan.
