Le nouveau Représentant permanent de la Ligue des États arabes auprès des Nations Unies présente ses lettres de créance

Le nouveau Représentant permanent de la Ligue des États arabes auprès des Nations Unies, M. Osama M. Abdelkhalek, a présenté aujourd'hui ses lettres de créance au Secrétaire général de l'ONU, M. António Guterres.

(Tel que reçu de la Mission permanente Ligue des États arabes)

Ambassador Osama Abdelkhalek is a career diplomat with experience spanning over three decades and essential contributions to multilateralism and cooperation between the United Nations and regional and sub-regional organizations. Ambassador Abdelkhalek served as the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations in New York from 2021 to 2025. Prior to that, he served as Egypt's Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU) and the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Ambassador to Ethiopia from 2018 to 2021 and as Deputy Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations in New York from 2011 to 2016.

Ambassador Abdelkhalek is a strong advocate for multilateralism and collective responses to global challenges. In his role as Chair of the UNGA Fifth Committee, He led the deliberations among the UN membership on the 2024 budget and succeeded in mobilizing intergovernmental support for the establishment of the Peacebuilding Account as a dedicated multi-year special account to finance the activities of the Peacebuilding Fund, and for enhancing the funding to implement the decisions of the Human Rights Council to ensure that the Council effectively delivers its mandate.

In the same vein, He dedicated his chairmanship of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) in 2021 to strengthen the engagement of the PBC with countries and regions emerging from conflict with a view to scaling up international support for building resilience and enhancing the capacities of national institutions. The Commission achieved a record number of engagements with countries emerging from conflict that reached 23 countries and regions, the highest number recorded since the establishment of the PBC. Ambassador Abdelkhalek is the Chair of the Caucus of African Permanent Representatives in the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission (African PBC Caucus).

In 2022, Ambassador Abdelkhalek was selected by the President of the UN General Assembly to co-lead the intergovernmental negotiations that led to the adoption of resolution 76/306 in September 2022, establishing the United Nations Youth Office. The creation of the Youth Office as a dedicated entity for youth issues within the UN Secretariat represented an essential milestone in the history of UN treatment of youth issues. As co-chair of the intergovernmental process, he contributed to ensuring unanimous support by the UN membership for operationalizing the recommendation of the Secretary-General's Our Common Agenda report to strengthen the institutional arrangements in the United Nations on youth issues and build upon more than a decade of relevant work by the Secretary-General's Envoys on Youth.

Furthermore, Ambassador Abdelkhalek contributed to strengthening the voice and participation of developing countries in intergovernmental processes, including in crucial UN meetings and conferences, such as the SDG Summit and the UN Water Conference. He also played a crucial role in the preparations for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), which took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022.

Ambassador Abdelkhalek is a strong advocate for Africa's regional integration, durable peace and security, and socio-economic transformation. During his term as Egypt's Permanent Representative to the African Union, he assumed the chairmanship of key African decision-making mechanisms, particularly the African Union Permanent Representative Committee (PRC) in 2019 and the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) in 2020. As Chair of the PRC, he led collective efforts towards improving the working methods of the African Union Commission and improving the implementation, monitoring, and follow-up of AU decisions. He also led the PRC preparatory work for convening the first mid-year coordination meeting between the AU and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in July 2019 in Niamey. In addition, He also mobilized the PRC's support for operationalizing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and strengthening the capacities of the AfCFTA Secretariat.

As Chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC), Ambassador Abdelkhalek led the AUSPC efforts to address risks to peace and stability on the continent, including by strengthening the African Peace & Security Architecture (APSA) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA). He also championed the nexus between peace, security, and development by strengthening the synergies and mutually reinforcing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2030 and advancing the latter's flagship initiative of silencing guns in Africa.

Furthermore, he made significant contributions to strengthening the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in line with Chapter 8 of the Charter, including through co-chairing the annual informal consultative meetings with both the UN Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission, with a view of strengthening joint planning and risk assessment of situations on the agenda of these bodies as well as enhancing cooperation in early warning, conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction and development.

Ambassador Abdelkhalek holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Cairo University. He is married and has a son and daughter.