United Nations University Council gets new members

The United Nations University (UNU) has announced the appointment of six new members to its council in the persons of Dr Denisa Čiderová (Slovakia), Vice-Rector for Research and Doctoral Studies, University of Economics in Bratislava; Dr Comfort Ero (United Kingdom), Program Director, Crisis Group; Dr Xin Fang (China), President & Professor, School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The other three are Professor Adam Habib (South Africa), Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Witwatersrand; Professor ’Funmi Olonisakin (United Kingdom & Nigeria), Vice-President/Vice-Principal International & Professor of Security, Leadership and Development, King’s College London; and Professor Brenda Yeoh (Singapore), Raffles Professor of Social Sciences, National University of Singapore

The new members, who will serve six-year terms, took office on 3 May and attended the council’s 71st session that convened in Rome on 13–14 May.

UNUC members are appointed jointly by the UN Secretary-General and UNESCO Director-General. They serve in an individual capacity ― not as representatives of their country’s government and are selected with an eye to achieving a geographic and gender balance, with due regard to each member’s field(s) of expertise.

The new members join six members whose six-year terms will end in 2022.

They are Professor Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz (Brazil), Scientific Director, São Paulo Research Foundation & Professor, Gleb Wataghin Physics Institute, State University of Campinas; Ms Isabel Guerrero Pulgar (Chile), Director, IMAGO Global Grassroots, & lecturer at Harvard and MIT; Dr Angela Kane (Germany), UNU Council Chair; Senior Fellow, Vienna Centre for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, & Professor, Sciences Po, Paris; Dr Segenet Kelemu (Ethiopia), Director General and CEO, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology; Dr Radha Kumar (India), policy analyst; and Professor Tsuneo Nishida (Japan), Director, Institute for Peace Science, Hiroshima University.

For the profiles of all current UNUC members, see unu.edu/about/unu-council

UNUC comprises 12 appointed members, the UNU Rector, and three ex officio members (the United Nations Secretary–General, the Director–General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research).

Its main functions are, inter alia, to formulate the principles and policies of UNU, govern the university’s operations, and consider and approve the UNU biennial work programme and budget.