Addis Ababa, 3 June 2015: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, today, appointed Mr. Ibrahima Fall, of Senegal, as the AU Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region and Head of the AU Liaison Office in Burundi.

This appointment comes at a time when the AU, in support of the efforts of the East African Community (EAC) and in close collaboration with the concerned international partners, including the United Nations (UN), is working towards an early settlement of the crisis facing Burundi, as a follow up to the relevant decisions of the Peace and Security Council. Mr. Fall was a member of the AU High-Level Mission that visited Burundi recently under the leadership of former Prime Minister of Togo and OAU Secretary-General Edem Kodjo. In his new functions, Mr. Fall will also, on behalf of the AU and in collaboration with the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, Sa?d Djinnit, follow-up the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Region.

Mr. Fall has a wealth of experience both national and international. As Professor in Public Law, he held important academic functions, including that of Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Economic Sciences at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, before assuming governmental responsibilities in his country, first as Minister of Higher Education (1983-1984), then as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1984-1990). He also assumed public international functions, having successively been Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights in Geneva (1992-1997), Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the UN Secretariat in New York (1997-2002), Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region (2002-2007) and AU Special Envoy for Guinea (2008-2010).