Amina Mohammed resumes duty at UN
The newly appointed United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Amina Mohammed, will assume her new duties at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
Mohammed, who was appointed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Dec. 15, 2016 as his deputy, was supposed to have assumed office on Jan. 1, 2017. She, however, delayed the assumption of her new role at the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to complete some ongoing responsibilities she was handling at that time.
The office of the UN Deputy Secretary-General was formally established by the General Assembly in 1997 to handle many of the administrative responsibilities of the Secretary-General.
As the fifth Deputy Secretary-General, Mohammed will help to manage the UN Secretariat operations, and “ensuring inter-sectoral and inter-institutional coherence of activities and programmes”.
She will also support the Secretary-General in elevating “the profile and leadership of the UN in the economic and social spheres, including further efforts to strengthen the UN as a leading centre for development policy and development assistance”.
António Guterres had, while announcing Mohammed alongside two other women appointees, describe them as “highly competent”.
“I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action.
“These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity,” Guterres had said.
Mohammed served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning.
She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the SDGs. Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on MDGs.
She provided advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions. (NAN)
