KABUL, 18 October 2026 – Rabab Fatima has assumed her functions as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Ms. Fatima brings more than 30 years of experience in national and international public service to the position, including expertise in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, policymaking, advocacy, and programme planning and implementation.
Prior to her appointment, she served as Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS).
Previously, she was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York (2019–2022). In that capacity, she served as President of the Executive Boards of UNICEF (2020) and UN Women (2022), as well as Vice-President of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board (2021). In 2022, she became the first woman elected Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission. She also served as a Vice-President of the seventy-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly.
A career diplomat, Ms. Fatima served as Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan (2016–2019), Director-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh (2015–2016), and in various capacities at Bangladesh's missions in New York, Geneva, Beijing and Kolkata, as well as at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ms. Fatima also served with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as Regional Adviser for South and South-West Asia and Regional Adviser for Climate Change and Migration (2012–2015), and as Regional Representative for South Asia (2007–2011). Earlier, she served as Head of Human Rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London (2006–2007).
Ms. Fatima holds a master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, United States, and a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from the University of Canberra, Australia. In addition to her native Bangla, she speaks English and has a working knowledge of Hindi and Urdu.
