UN Secretary-General appoints Russian diplomat as assistant for mine action and police
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Russian ambassador Gleb Desyatnikov as Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Peace Operations. He will oversee mine action and police components.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Russian ambassador Gleb Desyatnikov as Assistant Secretary-General for mine action and police in the UN Department of Peace Operations, according to the Secretary-General's office. The move stands out because Russia has been regarded as an aggressor state since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Ukraine has become the most heavily mined country in the world.
What Desyatnikov will oversee
He will lead the area that coordinates UN mine action and the work of police contingents within peacekeeping missions worldwide. The UN says the diplomat has more than 35 years of experience in international relations, political affairs and security, gained in government structures, multilateral diplomacy and conflict-affected regions.
Since 2018 Desyatnikov has served as Russia's ambassador to Jordan. From 2010 to 2018 he was deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Department at Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before that he worked as a senior adviser at Russia's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York (2004–2010), and in 1994–1997 he was seconded to the UN Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM). He studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and speaks English and Arabic.
Precedent and context
In April 2017 Guterres appointed another Russian representative, Alexander Zuev, as assistant secretary-general for rule of law and security institutions in the same department. His remit included UN peacekeeping police, justice reform, prison systems and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
In March 2022 the UN General Assembly condemned Russia's invasion by an overwhelming majority and called for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Ukraine. Ukrainian diplomacy then urged the UN secretariat to remove citizens of the aggressor state from leading and sensitive security posts. In April 2024 UN bodies and the Ukrainian government stated that more than 156,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory require survey and clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance.
