15 September 2008 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Chairperson Jean Ping have appointed Mr. Azouz Ennifar of Tunisia as Deputy Joint AU-UN Mediator for Darfur. Mr. Ennifar will assist the Joint AU-UN Chief Mediator for Darfur, Mr. Djibril Yipènè Bassolé of Burkina Faso.

Mr. Ennifar brings to this position extensive experience in peacekeeping, mediation and diplomacy. He served as Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of Mission for the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea from July 2005 to July 2008.

Mr. Ennifar also has a distinguished career with his country’s foreign service, serving as Tunisian Ambassador to the United States, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Brazil, and Italy, and as the Tunisian representative at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.