United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of UN veteran Jamal Benomar of as his Special Adviser at the level of Under-Secretary-General.
Benomar was born in April 1957 in the Rif. He was a political prisoner for eight years in Morocco (1976–1983) as member of the Marxist –Leninist group Ilal Amam during the years of lead .
A statement from the U.N on the sidelines of this appointment read that “Mr. Benomar is a veteran United Nations senior leader who brings to this position a deep understanding of political dialogue processes and international peacebuilding efforts. He has most recently served as the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen where he worked tirelessly to facilitate the combined efforts of the international community to promote a democratic transition in the country. He was the United Nations mediator in the negotiations that led to the Transition Agreement in 2011, and facilitated the positive conclusions of the National Dialogue Conference in 2014 and other agreements.”
“Mr. Benomar has worked in a variety of capacities since he joined the United Nations in 1993, including with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department of Political Affairs. He played a key role in establishing the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Support Office, which he also directed. He also served in Afghanistan and Iraq as the Secretary-General’s Envoy to support the National Dialogue Conference in 2004,” the U.N statement added.
Prior to his career with the United Nations, Mr. Benomar was a director at the Carter Center, where he worked closely with former United States President Jimmy Carter on human rights and mediation issues. He has also worked for Amnesty International in London. In the course of his career, Mr. Benomar has advised on rule of law, governance and conflict resolution issues in over 30 countries.
Born in 1957, he has an academic background in international human rights law, economics and political science. He has studied in Morocco and the University of Paris where he earned two master’s degrees, and obtained his doctorate from the University of London.
