Vanessa Frazier appointed to top UN role, in 'historic first' for Malta
Maltese diplomat to serve as UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General
Senior Maltese diplomat Vanessa Frazier has been appointed the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict in what Foreign Minister Ian Borg hailed as a “historic first” for Malta.
The role will see Frazier advocating at the highest international level for the protection and rights of children affected by armed conflict, working to raise awareness, promote international cooperation and encourage action to address violations such as child recruitment, sexual violence, and attacks on schools or hospitals.
She replaces Virgina Gamba of Argentina who served in the role for the past eight years.
Writing on X following the news of the appointment, Borg said he was “proud to see one of our own take on this vital role in protecting children’s rights”.
A long-serving senior diplomat, Frazier was appointed Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations in New York from 2020 to 2025 and served as the president of the UN Security Council between February 2023 and April 2024. In 2021 she also became the permanent representative of Malta to the International Seabed Authority. Prior to that, she served as Malta’s ambassador to Belgium and later to Italy, among other key positions.
In her new role, Frazier will be given the rank of under secretary general which is the highest rank that can be attained within the UN other than being elected secretary general.
“It’s a big responsibility,” Frazier said when contacted by Times of Malta.
She explained the selection process was long and ardous with “many candidates from large donor states and a lot of political pressure from member states who support or are involved in the grave violations against children”.
“That I made it through to the end of the process and was selected is a huge honour. It’s a massive responsibility,” Frazier said.
“I have been dedicated to this dossier throughout my UN posting and I hope to bring relief to the hundreds of thousands of affected children in conflicts all over the globe.”
An official UN statement from the office of secretary general Antonio Guterres said Frazier “brings multilateral diplomatic expertise, crisis management skills, consensus building and dedication to child protection, with ability to navigate complex global negotiations and broker agreements among diverse stakeholders.”