Raouf Mazou appointed UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Operations

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi today welcomed the appointment of Raouf Mazou as Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, a crucial role for overseeing UNHCR’s responses to refugee situations worldwide.

Mr. Mazou, a Congolese national, replaces Mr. George Okoth-Obbo, who has recently been appointed as head of Secretariat to the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Mr. Mazou earlier on Friday, and Mr. Mazou is expected to take up his new position shortly. The roles of High Commissioner, Deputy High Commissioner, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, and Assistant High Commissioner for Protection together comprise the top four positions in UNHCR’s senior management structure.

“I am delighted to see Raouf being appointed to this role,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “His extensive experience at UNHCR, working in refugee situations in West and East Africa and more recently as head of UNHCR’s Africa Bureau in Geneva, makes him well placed to lead the essential work of UNHCR in delivering protection of refugees and other displaced populations as well as solutions to their plights in the many complex environments in which we work.”