Leadership

Mr. Jean Arnault is a senior United Nations official with extensive experience in mediation and support for conflict resolution. He is currently serving as Officer in Charge of UNSCOL. Over several decades, he has held a range of leadership roles as an envoy, a mediator and the head of United Nations missions.

Mr. Arnault was the Secretary-General’s delegate to the peace talks in Havana in 2015 and 2016 and served as Special Representative and Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia until 2018. Shortly thereafter, he was deployed as the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Bolivia to address the country’s 2019-2020 crisis.

Mr. Arnault assumed the role of Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in 2004, having previously served as the mission’s deputy head. He became Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN peacekeeping mission to Georgia (UNOMIG) in 2006, staying in the role for two years.

Following mediation in Guatemala’s peace talks from 1992 to 1996, Mr. Arnault led the UN verification mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) until 2000. He was subsequently appointed the Secretary-General’s Representative and Head of the UN Office in Bujumbura, Burundi, serving from 2001 to 2002

Mr. Arnault’s prior experience entailed roles related to political processes in Namibia and Western Sahara. He was a member of the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations from 2014 to 2015, advising on reforms to United Nations peace operations.

Mr. Arnault, a French national, holds a degree in philosophy from the University of Sorbonne-Paris I and has taught at the Paris School of International Affairs, focusing on conflict settlement and international mediation.

Imran Riza

Deputy Special Coordinator of the Secretary-General for Lebanon

Pakistan

Mr. Imran Riza of Pakistan was appointed United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon and Resident Coordinator for Lebanon in September 2022. He also serves as United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator.

Mr. Riza has over 35 years of international experience across the United Nations System, mainly in field settings. Prior to taking up his position at UNSCOL, he was in Syria as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator. Prior to that, he served in Lebanon as Deputy Head of Mission and Director of the Division of Political Affairs, Civil Affairs and Strategic Communications of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). He previously served as the Regional Representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UNHCR Representative for Jordan. With UNHCR, he has also served in Geneva, Sudan, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Mr. Riza has also held positions with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome and as Senior Adviser to the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Lebanon, as well as with UNSCOL.

Mr. Riza holds a master’s degree in Social-Cultural Anthropology from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from McGill University. Mr. Riza speaks English, French and Urdu.

X account: @Imran_Riza