![Filippo Grandi - the next UN High Commissioner for refugees](https://turan.az/resized/media/2015/main/111900137016-750-500-resize.webp)
Filippo Grandi - the next UN High Commissioner for refugees
UN Secretary-General welcomes today’s action by the General Assembly to elect Filippo Grandi of Italy as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Mr. Grandi will succeed António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres of Portugal, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his utmost gratitude for his tireless efforts and dedication in protecting refugees, displaced persons and stateless people and for bringing the plight of the most vulnerable, and their pursuit of a dignified existence, into the center of the United Nations agenda.
Mr. Grandi was most recently Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from 2010 to 2014 and its Deputy Commissioner-General from 2005 until 2010. Having been engaged in international cooperation for over 30 years, Mr. Grandi brings vast experience to his new position from his work in refugee and humanitarian operations and policies, addressing human consequences of major conflicts, encompassing protection, emergency management, donor relations and political affairs.
He served as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and has a long-standing career with UNHCR, notably as Chief of Mission in Afghanistan and Chief of Staff in the High Commissioner’s Executive Office at Headquarters. His vast UNHCR field experience includes positions in Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Iraq, having led emergency operations in Kenya, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen.
Born in 1957, Mr. Grandi holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the Gregorian University in Rome, a Degree in modern history from the State University of Milan and an Honorary Degree (D.Litt.) from the University of Coventry. -0-
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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