On 4 January 2017, UNAMID organized a farewell parade in honor of the outgoing AU-UN Joint Special Representative/Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur, Martin Uhomoibhi. Mr. Uhomoibhi, a Nigerian national, was appointed by the UN Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission as the Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of UNAMID; his responsibilities including that of the AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator. Mr. Uhomoibhi served as the Head of Mission in Darfur for 12 months.

The event took place at the Mission’s headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur, and was attended by the Deputy Joint Special Representative - Political, Kingsley Mamabolo, senior leadership and members of UNAMID’s military, police and civilian personnel.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Uhomoibhi, expressed his appreciation to all staff members for their support and dedication to the Mission’s mandate in Darfur. “This team has been professionally committed, full of integrity and honor, committed to the course of the United Nations and the African Union and determined to work for the hope of a better life for the Darfuri people,” he stated.

In the course of more than 30 years of service in the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Uhomobihi served as Ambassador of Nigeria to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, among other roles.  He also held positions in the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York, the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Atlanta and its embassies in Ethiopia and the former Yugoslavia.

From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Uhomoibhi served as the third President of the United Nations Human Rights Council and Chair of the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly.