Veteran peace, aid official Jan Egeland named as special advisor to Ban Ki-moon
NEW YORK, 14 March: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday named Jan Egeland as his new Special Adviser, and said that he believes the flamboyant Norwegian will be able to draw on his more than a quarter century of experience in peace processes and humanitarian operations in his new capacity.
– Mr. Egeland will be a valuable asset to the Secretary-General on matters relating to the prevention and resolution of conflict, Mr. Bans spokesperson, Michele Montas, said.
Mr. Egeland will be working closely with the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) to strengthen the Organizations peacemaking capabilities, she said.
One of his tasks as Special Adviser will be to manage a standby team of experts, currently being assembled by DPA as part of its efforts to bolster mediation support capacity, to be dispatched at short notice to support peacemaking efforts worldwide.
Most recently, Mr. Egeland, former head of the Norwegian Red Cross and co-initiator and organizer of the Norwegian Channel between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization which paved the way for the 1993 peace agreement between them, served as the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator from 2003 to 2006.
He also directed the Norwegian facilitation of the UN-led peace talks leading up to ceasefire agreement between the Government of Guatemala and the guerrillas, which was signed in Oslo in 1996.
He led the host delegation when the Ottawa treaty to ban land mines was successfully negotiated and adopted in Oslo in 1997. Before becoming head of the Norwegian Red Cross, Mr. Egeland was former Secretary-General Kofi Annans Special Adviser on Colombia from 1999 to 2002.
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