South Sudan Appoints Former USIP Fellow as First U.N. Ambassador
South Sudan recently appointed Francis Deng to be its first ambassador to the United Nations, as the new country seeks to strengthen its diplomatic representation in key posts while negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan resume.
Deng, a respected scholar who served as a special adviser to the U.N. Secretary General on the prevention of genocide from May 2007 to July 2012, was a fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace from 1987 to 1988 and again from 2002 to 2003.
As a fellow at the Institute, Deng focused on prospects for peace and unity in Sudan, as well as identity and self-determination issues.
“The selection of Francis Deng as the new U.N. ambassador for South Sudan is an inspired choice. From Francis’s close association with USIP over the past 25 years, we have come to admire his wisdom, knowledge and diplomatic skills,” said David Smock, head of USIP’s Centers of Innovation and a longtime friend and associate of Deng’s.
