UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres already obtained the needed consent to appoint former Slovakian foreign minister Jan Kubis as the new United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), informed sources in New York told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday.
Kubis would succeed Pernille Dahler Kardel of Denmark, who was assigned on November 2017 as Acting UNSCOL for one year after Sigrid Kaag of the Netherlands concluded her assignment on October 26, 2017.
Western diplomats said in addition to Kubis and Kardel, there were three candidates for the post: Deputy UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Philippe Lazzarini, German Ambassador to Jordan, Birgitta Maria Siefker-Eberl and head of Department for Middle East and North Africa at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ann Dismorr.
The sources said Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary di Carlo had sent the candidacy of Kubis to the five UN permanent members: China, France, Russia, the UK and US to obtain their consent before Guterres sends in the next hours, a letter to all 15 members of the Security Council to inform them about his decision to appoint the Slovakian diplomat.
Another diplomat said Kardel was hoping to be permanently appointed at the position. However, he said, the delicate situation in Lebanon and in the region, particularly in Israel and Syria, forced the UN chief to choose a person with more experience in the region’s affairs.
In 2011, the UN had named Kubis as head of the key UN mission in Afghanistan.
Kubis was Slovakia's foreign minister from 2006 to 2009. He then became executive secretary of UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). He has also worked with the European Union, the UN and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in duties that have included a stint in central Asia.
