Ban confirms appointment of adviser on Yemen (Jamal Benomar), names new enterprise planning official (Enrnesto Enrqiue Baca)

Special Adviser on Yemen Jamal Benomar. UN Photo/JC McIlwaine

1 August 2012 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today confirmed the appointment of Jamal Benomar as his Special Adviser on Yemen, charged with leading strengthened so-called ‘good offices’ in the Middle Eastern country during its current transition period. Mr. Benomar has served as the Special Adviser on Yemen since April last year, and has been working with the United Nations since early 1994 in various capacities, including with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA).
Mr. Benomar also served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Before his career with the UN, Mr. Benomar was a director at the Carter Center where he worked closely with former US President Jimmy Carter on human rights and mediation issues.
In addition to other methods, the Secretary-General uses his ‘good offices’ – steps taken publicly and in private, drawing upon his independence, impartiality and integrity – to prevent international disputes from arising, escalating or spreading.
Mr. Ban also announced today the appointment of Enrnesto Enrqiue Baca of Argentina as the Assistant Secretary-General for the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Project in the UN Department of Management.
In a news release, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said Mr. Baca brings with him “extensive experience in leading major business transformations, large scale process re-engineering and change management initiatives, including ERP system implementation in the United Nations system and the private sector.”
Mr. Baca was previously the Chief Information Officer and Director of Information Technology and Management Services of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), where he led the agency’s business transformation and information technology projects.
Before joining the UN, Mr. Baca acted as the Chief Executive Officer of Telecarrier International Inc, in Panama, and had held senior positions at Telecom Argentina.