KABUL: New Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Indrika Ratwette has arrived in Kabul, a UN statement said on Wednesday.
According to the UN statement, the UN representative arrived in Kabul, on 10 January, and would also serve as the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
Earlier, on 7 November 2023, United Nations chief António Guterres appointed Indrika Ratwette of Sri Lanka as his new Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan in the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
He brings more than 30 years of experience in humanitarian affairs and protection in complex and crisis settings, including more than 14 years of working on Afghanistan and regional matters.
UN Top Official Arrives in Kabul
The envoy started his career with the UN in 1992, with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and continued his career with UNHCR in 1993. He served as Director of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, where he earlier worked as Deputy, and UNHCR’s Representative in Pakistan.
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He worked with UNHCR as Deputy Representative in Pakistan and Tanzania, along with prior assignments in Croatia, Thailand, China, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the UN statement said.
Ratwatte holds a Master’s Degree in Global Affairs from Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Sociology from the University of Colombo. The envoy is also an Attorney-at-Law from Sri Lanka Law College.
