António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, named a Maltese diplomat, who led U.N. Security Council efforts to pressure Israel into a ceasefire, as his special representative for children and armed conflict.
In that role, Vanessa Frazier replaces Virginia Gamba, of Argentina, who served in the position for eight years and was viewed largely by Israeli officials in that area as meticulous, understanding and critical in publicly highlighting flaws in her U.N. mandate, which could skew the global body’s data.
Guterres made the announcement on Friday. Frazier, who studied in Iowa and in Malta, was the Maltese ambassador to the global body from 2020 until earlier this year. She served on the Security Council during Malta’s elected 2023-24 term, during which she chaired the council’s working group on children and armed conflict.
She served as the de facto leader of the so-called E10, the 10 elected Security Council members, on issues related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Frazier expressed support publicly for hostages, whom Hamas holds in Gaza, multiple times. More often, she insisted on a ceasefire and unimpeded aid delivery into Gaza, on behalf of the E10 or the Security Council, without tying those provisions directly to releasing the hostages.
She also said that the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which provides aid to Palestinians, is a “stabilizing force in Gaza and in the region” and compared it to the Irish Republican Army and said it is “way too early to tell” if Hamas could become a peaceful party.
Israel and the United States have said that UNRWA has ties to Palestinian terror, and Israel has presented evidence of UNRWA staffers participating directly in the Oct. 7 attacks.
Frazier’s new role is responsible for compiling an annual report for Guterres on children in armed conflict. For the past two years, the report has listed Israeli armed and security forces on a “list of shame” for violations against children in war.
