NEW YORK (UN NEWS CENTER) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia as the top United Nations official in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Ms. Zewde, who would replace François Fall of Guinea, would be the second woman serving as a Special Representative of the Secretary-General under the current Secretary-General.

As the new Special Representative, she would head the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in CAR (BONUCA), which is to be succeeded by the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office, to be known as BINUCA.

Ms. Zewde is currently the Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

“Ms. Zewde brings to this position years of experience in the African Union’s initiatives in conflict prevention and peacebuilding,” UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York.

“As a representative of her country to the African Union Peace and Security Council, she has been involved in deliberations on the situation in the Central African Republic. She has deep understanding of the close partnership of the United Nations and the African Union in resolving conflicts as well as in peacebuilding efforts in Africa.”