H.E. Ambassador Amr Abdellatif Aboualatta is the Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations Office in Geneva since February 2022.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Aboualatta, an Egyptian diplomat, served as Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations in New York from September 2014 to February 2018, during which time, in 2016 and 2017, he chaired, among other things, the Security Council Committees established pursuant to resolutions 1373 and 1533 on counterterrorism and the Democratic Republic of Congo, respectively. From July 2002 to June 2006, he was his country's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

Mr. Aboualatta also served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Diplomatic Personnel Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo from September 2013 to the end of August 2014, after having served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the League of Arab States from September 2012 to the end of August 2013.

Mr. Aboualatta also served as Egypt's Ambassador to Jordan from September 2008 to the end of August 2012, after having been Deputy Assistant to the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Political Affairs and the United Nations from September 2007 to September 2008.

Having joined the diplomatic career at the end of 1981, Mr. Aboualatta has served in Paris as Second Secretary of the Egyptian Embassy (1987-1991) and in Washington as Counselor at the Egyptian Embassy (1994-1999). He also served as First Secretary to the Cabinet of the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1994 and later, from 1999 to 2002, as Counselor and Head of the Department of US and Canadian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo.

Mr. Aboualatta holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Cairo University and a Master's degree from the former International Institute of Public Administration in Paris.

Born on November 10, 1957 in Giza, Mr. Aboualatta is married and has one daughter.

Francisca Elizabeth Mendez Escobar is the new Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Prior to her appointment to Geneva, Ms. Mendez Escobar had been serving as Ambassador of Mexico to the United Arab Emirates, from January 2017 to January 2022, also covering Iraq. She has also served as Deputy Head of Mission for the European Union, Kingdom of Belgium and Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg; Deputy Head of Mission in Romania, Costa Rica and Spain; and Deputy Counsellor in the Mexican Consulates in Milan and Barcelona.

Ms. Mendez Escobar has served as Director General for Regional American Organizations in Mexico City and Special Advisor to the Deputy Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean on the education and private sector. She worked in the Department of Political Affairs and the Caribbean, in the Directorate for United Nations and in the Directorate for Global Affairs after entering the Diplomatic Service of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991.

Ms. Mendez Escobar was born in Mexico City and graduated with a bachelor of science in Political Sciences and Public Administration and a master of science in Latin American Studies from the Mexican National Autonomous University. She obtained a second master of science in Law and Economics from the Milan State University in Italy. Ms. Mendez Escobar has diplomas in international politics, public diplomacy and Arab studies. She is married, with two children.

Mr. Petersen has from September 2020 to October 2023 served as Assistant Secretary General, Deputy Executive Director (Management) in UNFPA. He came to UNFPA from a position as Director for the Department of Migration, Conflict and Stabilization of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Petersen has over 30 years of experience within the spheres of bilateral and multilateral affairs and development. He served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations in New York from 2013-2019, during which period he held several important duties. Most notably, Mr. Petersen has served on the Executive Boards of the United Nations Development Programmes, including as President of the Executive Board of UN Women in 2015 and as President of the Joint UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board in 2017. Mr. Petersen was in 2019 Denmark’s Special Envoy for ICPD25 and the Nairobi Summit as well as Special Envoy for Conflict and Fragility.

Mr. Petersen started his long-serving career with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985. Throughout his service, he notably held the positions of State Secretary (Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United Nations) from 2007-2009 and State Secretary for Development Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2009-2013. Mr. Petersen served as Under Secretary for Bilateral Cooperation from 2004-2007, and before that as Director, Department for Development Policy from 2001-2004. During this time, Mr. Petersen led the development of new strategies for Danish development cooperation, strengthened results-based management and successfully implemented development campaigns and initiatives to support economic growth in Africa, as well as promotion of human rights, in particular women's rights and empowerment.

Mr. Petersen holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Aarhus. He is Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog.

Mr. Petersen is married and has two sons.

Prior to his appointment as Ambassador and PR to Geneva, Dr. Andisha was the Afghanistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister (2015-2019) and Ambassador of Afghanistan to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. (2011-2015).

Between 2009-2011, he served as the Director General of the Fifth Political Division (US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) and from 2006 to 2007 as the Director of Multilateral Economic Relations and International Financial Institutions.

Amb. Andisha has also worked at the Energy Charter Secretariat in Brussels as a consultant in 2006 and in 2008 he served at the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City. Before joining the Foreign Service, he worked with the International Committee of Red Cross as a field officer in norther Afghanistan (1998-2001) Dr. Andisha taught at Institute of Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Al Beruni University in Kapisa province -Afghanistan. He holds a master’s degree from Texas A&M University and a PhD from the Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University.

He is fluent in Farsi/Dari, Pashto and English and posse’s basic fluency in Arabic and French. He is married and have three children.

Noel White became the Ambassador of Ireland to the United Nations in Geneva in December 2022. Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. White served as Ambassador at the European Union Political and Security Committee since February 2017. He also served as Director of International Security Policy at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Dublin from 2016 to 2017; Ireland’s Ambassador to Australia, also accredited to New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea from 2012 to 2016; and Director/Spokesperson at the Press Office at headquarters from 2010 to 2012.

Other posts he has held include being a Political Administrator at the European Union General Secretariat of the Council from 2009 to 2010 and from 2000 to 2001; Director of Development Cooperation at headquarters from 2005 to 2009; Director at the Permanent Representation to the European Union from 2001 to 2005; First Secretary at the European Union Division at headquarters from 1997 to 2000; and Deputy Head of Mission in Luxembourg and Deputy Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg from 1987 to 1990. He entered the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1985.