Bintou Keita (Guinea)
Special Representative of the Secretary-General

Secretary-General appoints Ms. Bintou Keita of Guinea as Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 14 January 2021 the appointment of Ms. Bintou Keita of Guinea as his Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Ms. Keita succeeds Ms. Leila Zerrougui of Algeria, who will complete her assignment next month.  The Secretary-General is deeply grateful to Ms. Zerrougui for her important contribution and service to MONUSCO.

Ms. Keita brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in peace, security, development, humanitarian, and human rights, working in conflict and post-conflict environments.  Since January 2019 she has been serving as the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations and had served as the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from November 2017 to December 2018.

Between 2015 to 2017, Ms. Keita served the United Nations as Deputy Joint Special Representative for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).  She had previously led United Nations efforts to fight the Ebola Virus Disease as the Ebola Crisis Manager for Sierra Leone between February and November 2015.

From 2007 to 2010, she also served as Deputy Executive Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi.

Ms. Keita joined the United Nations in 1989, additionally serving in several senior management and leadership functions with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Chad, the Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Burundi and at Headquarters.

Ms. Keita holds a master’s degree in social economy from the University of Paris II, France, and a post- graduate degree in business administration and management from the University of Paris IX, France.

Khassim Diagne (Senegal)
Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Khassim Diagne of Senegal as his Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Mr. Diagne succeeds David Gressly of the United States to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for his dedicated service to MONUSCO.

Mr. Diagne brings to the position more than 25 years of experience in refugee protection, political affairs, management and oversight, having served since 2017 as Director of the Political, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Human Rights Unit in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General, and previously as Regional Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) to the United States of America and the Caribbean.

His previous UNHCR positions include Representative in Liberia and Cameroon and Deputy Representative in Pakistan, while holding key roles in Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Kenya and Somalia, as well as senior management and leadership positions at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva serving as Head of the Governance and Partnership Service and Secretary of the Executive Committee during preparations for the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. 

Mr. Diagne served as Political Affairs Officer in the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region and was a member of the joint UN-AU team that organized the first International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes region in 2004.

He holds a Master of Arts degree from the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Senegal, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, United States.

Bruno Lemarquis (France)
Deputy Special Representative, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator

Mr. Bruno Lemarquis is the Deputy Special Representative to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Resident Coordinator and Coordinator of Humanitarian Operations in the DRC.

Respectively, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Resident Coordinator and Coordinator of Humanitarian Operations in the country since 2020, Mr. Lemarquis brings       with him extensive management and leadership experience in complex multidimensional situations, development, humanitarian affairs and peacekeeping.

From 2014 to 2019, he was Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director of the Crisis Management Unit, then known as the Crisis Bureau/Global Policy Network to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

From 2009 to 2014, he assumed several positions in the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, accumulating experience in the field, including in Somalia, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Cambodia. Prior to joining the United Nations in 1992, Mr. Lemarquis worked for an international NGO in Haiti and Ethiopia.

He holds an Engineering degree in tropical Agriculture from the “Centre National d’Etudes des Regions Chaudes de Montpellier”. He is fluent in English and French.

Lieutenant General Otávio Rodrigues De Miranda Filho (Brasilia)
Force Commander

Secretary-General appoints Lieutenant General Otávio Rodrigues De Miranda Filho of Brazil as Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) 

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Otávio Rodrigues de Miranda Filho of Brazil as Force Commander for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). 

Lieutenant General Otávio Rodrigues de Miranda Filho succeeds Lieutenant General Marcos de Sá Affonso da Costa of Brazil, who will complete his assignment on 28 February 2023. The Secretary-General is deeply grateful to Lieutenant General Marcos de Sá Affonso da Costa for his important contribution and service to MONUSCO. 

Lieutenant General Miranda Filho has several years of experience in command-and-control structures in the Brazilian Army. Since August 2021, he has been serving as Military Region Commander (North Brazil), in charge of a large logistical and administrative command, supplying 32 military organizations in the legal amazon and responsible for the selection and integration of all temporary military personnel in the Area of Responsibility. Prior to that, he served as Head of International Affairs in the Brazil Defense Forces. 

Lieutenant General Miranda Filho has also held several other command positions, including Brigade Commander in the 9th Motorized Infantry Brigade from 2018 to 2019 and Chief of Staff of the Planalto Military Command from 2016 to 2018. He also has international experience, having served as Military Attaché of the Brazilian Embassy in China from 2014 to 2016. 

Lieutenant General Miranda Filho holds a Bachelor’s degree in Military Sciences from Das Aghulas Negras Military Academy in Brazil and completed several military trainings in the Army Command and General Staff Colleges of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish and is proficient in French. 

Brigadier General Mody Berethé
Chief of the United Nations Police Component (UNPOL)

Brigadier General Mody Berethé took up his post as Chief of the United Nations Police Component (UNPOL) with MONUSCO on Monday, January 25, 2021.

He brings along to this post an extremely rich experience in United Nations peace operations and a proven track record in the field of Reform and Security.

Between December 2016 and October 2019, he held the post of Chief of the Security Sector Reform of the Integrated Multidimensional Mission of the United Nations Stabilization for the Stabilization in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

He has also benefited from other important assignments within the United Nations: Head of Security Sector Reform at the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) and DPKO from 2011 to 2014; Permanent Police Reform Officer (SPC) and Police Officer at Missions Management Support Section of the Police Division, UNHQ, from April 2008 to July 2011.

Mr. Berethé was also Technical Advisor on issues of small arms reduction and armed violence at UNDP, Burundi, between September 2005 and May 2007.

As a Civilian Police Officer, he rendered valuable services to MONUC and ONUB from February 2003 to August 2005.

At the national level, Brigadier General Bereth has had sound police experience in command positions for more than a decade.

He held the position of Director General of the School of Peacekeeping in Bamako, Mali, from November 2019 until he was appointed to the current position. Long before, he had been Head of the National Gendarmerie from January 2014 to October 2015. He had also held senior positions within this same institution from 1994 to 2003.

A graduate of the Sorbonne, Brigadier General Berethé, holds a Master degree in Peace and Security Management in Africa.

He is married with six children.