Barran Press
On Thursday, May 23, 2024, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Japanese diplomat Mari Yamashita as the Deputy Head of the United Nations Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), replacing Dutch official Vivian van de Perre.
According to an official statement released on the United Nations' official website and translated into Arabic by "Barran Press," Yamashita brings a wealth of experience to the United Nations, with a career spanning over 30 years in preventive diplomacy, peacebuilding, and external relations at the United Nations headquarters and globally.
Since December 2020, Mari has served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Belgrade. She has also worked as the Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Division in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, Deputy Director and Head of the Peacebuilding Support Office, and Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Afghanistan. Additionally, she has served as an advisor on external relations in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General in Tokyo.
The statement further highlights Yamashita's leadership positions in various field assignments, including roles with the United Nations Mission in Nepal, the United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Sirmium, and the Joint Operation between the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations in Armenia.
Yamashita holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from Sofia University (Yotsuya) in Japan, and a Master's degree in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States. She is fluent in English, Finnish, French, German, and Japanese, according to the statement.
The UNMHA was established following the Stockholm Agreement signed on December 13, 2018, in Sweden between the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Houthis, who are globally classified as a terrorist group. The mission's role, as mandated by Security Council Resolution 2451, is to support the immediate implementation of the ceasefire in Hodeidah Governorate and facilitate the joint redeployment of forces in the coastal governorate and its three ports (Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Isa), per the terms of the Stockholm Agreement.
On December 22, 2018, the UN mission began its work in Hodeidah. However, it has faced accusations from a wide sector of Yemenis of failing to fulfill its duties in line with the expected role, considering the substantial resources and authority granted to it by the United Nations.