Guterres appoints Claudio Cordone as Deputy Special Envoy for Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Monday the appointment of Italian Claudio Cordone as the new Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Cordone succeeds the Icelandic Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, who recently completed her duties, according to UNAMI.

In a statement, UNAMI said that Cordone has more than 35 years of experience in international relations, international human rights and humanitarian law.

This includes his experience as Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Lebanon, where he has held a position since 2017.

During this period, he also briefly served as the interim Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon. Previously, he served as Director of the Human Rights, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Division with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), as well as Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the country (2013-2017)

Cordone previously worked with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and spent over 25 years with Amnesty International in multiple capacities, including a six-month tenure as interim Secretary General in 2010.

From 1997-1998, he served as Chief of the Human Rights Office with the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH).

He holds a law degree from Sapienza University of Rome and completed a Master of Arts in Arab Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Mr. Cordone speaks English, French, Italian and Arabic.