Rabab Fatima

Ms. Rabab Fatima was appointed as the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) by the United Nations Secretary-General in August 2022.

As the High Representative, Ms. Rabab Fatima is responsible for supporting the LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS in achieving their development priorities as contained in their respective programmes of actions adopted by global consensus, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Together, these groups of countries constitute the 92 most vulnerable countries in the world.

The UN Secretary-General appointed Ms. Fatima as the Secretary-General of the Third United Nations Conference of the LLDCs (2025), and the Fifth United Nations Conference on LDCs (2023), and as the Special Adviser of the Fourth United Nations Conference of the SIDS (2024). She also serves as the Secretary-General’s representative on the Council of the United Nations Technology Bank for the LDCs.

Ms. Fatima has over thirty years of experience in the national and international civil service, with specialization in multilateral diplomacy, international development, human rights, and humanitarian issues.

Prior to her current appointment, she was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York (2019-2022). In that role, she co-chaired the preparatory committee of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the LDCs (2021). She also served as the President of the Executive Boards of UNICEF (2020) and UN-Women (2022), as well as Vice-President of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board (2021). She was the first woman to be elected as the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission in 2022. She also served as a Vice-President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. She has led other inter-governmental processes, including as Co-Facilitator of the first International Migration Review Forum (2022), and Co-Facilitator of the inter-governmental negotiation on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly (2021).

As a career diplomat, Ms. Fatima served as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan (2016-2019). She served as Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangladesh (2015-2016), and in Bangladesh missions in New York, Geneva, Beijing and Kolkata, and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in different capacities.

Ms. Fatima also served in the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as the Regional Representative for South Asia (Dhaka, 2007-2011) and as Regional Adviser for South and South-West Asia and Regional Adviser for Climate Change and Migration (Bangkok, 2012-2015). She also served as the Head of Human Rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London (2006-2007).

Ms. Fatima holds a master’s degree in international relations and diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, United States, and a bachelor’s degree in social science from the University of Canberra, Australia.