UN Chief Appoints Canadian Diplomat As Deputy Mideast Envoy - Spokesperson

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st December, 2020) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Canadian diplomat Lynn Hastings to serve as the Deputy Special Coordinator for the middle East Peace Process and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Office of the United Nations Spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

"UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today announced the appointment of Lynn Hastings of Canada as Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, where she will also serve as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory," the statement said.

Hastings has more than 20 years of experience in the field, serving as Deputy Director in the Operations and Advocacy Division of OCHA in New York, Senior Adviser to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus and Chief of Staff in the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

Hastings has also served as United Nations representative to the Office of the Middle East Quartet Envoy for the Gaza Disengagement, as well as held senior roles in the UN mission in Kosovo and East Timor, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Earlier this month, Guterres appointed Norwegian diplomat Tor Wennesland to serve as UN Middle East envoy in light of the current envoy Nickolay Mladenov's decision to resign from the United Nations on December 31.