Ambassador David M. Satterfield, U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa (Credit: tr.usembassy.gov)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – The UN says it remains committed to working with partners in the troubled Horn of Africa for peace and stability despite the abrupt departure of the US Special Envoy for the region. According to Reuters, David Satterfield, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, will step down from his role before summer, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, after less than six months on the job. Satterfield had replaced Jeffrey Feltman as the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa. Feltman was initially set to take on his diplomatic role for less than a year, according to the Department of State. “However, the ongoing instability in the Horn of Africa and the region’s interlinked political, security, and humanitarian challenges demand sustained focus by the United States,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in announcing Feltman’s departure in January 2022. Satterfield and Deputy Special Envoy Payton Knopf had arrived in Ethiopia on Wednesday April 13 for meetings with Ethiopian government officials, representatives of humanitarian organizations, and diplomatic partners.
Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe) President Biden appointed former UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman as the new U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Apr. 23, 2021.
United Nations Worked With U.S. Special Envoys in Horn of Africa
(By Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres briefs reporters at UN world headquarters in New York April 14, 2022.
Many are questioning the commitment of the U.S. to the Horn of Africa as two of its Envoys have departed during the past year alone while the region remains a hot-bed of political instability and military conflict. Ethiopia has been embroiled in a year-long bloody conflict that reportedly killed thousands of people, displaced millions, and created starvation for hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians. Sudan, which borders Ethiopia, is also in chaos with the resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Neighboring Somalia has been wracked by civil war since 1991, and terror organization Al-Shabab continues to conduct attacks in the country. In February, China appointed senior diplomat Xue Bing to a newly created post of special envoy for the Horn of Africa. The UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson said on Thursday the UN will continue to work with U.S. diplomats in the Horn of Africa as well as China’s special envoy.
“I mean, we have worked with Mr. Satterfield, obviously, with Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman before. We’ll continue to work with the US and other countries who also have… I mean, I think the [People’s Republic of China] … the Chinese also have special…(envoy) we work with all interested and concerned parties. And I think our work that we do in Somalia, the work that we do in Sudan and Ethiopia are all aimed not only at the humanitarian front but helping those countries move to a more stable political environment.”
-Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Ambassador Satterfield was the former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. Ambassador Satterfield was confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey on June 27, 2019. Satterfield entered the Foreign Service in 1980 and holds the rank of Career Minister. He also served from June until July 2019 as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State. He served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs from September 2017 to June 2019, and from July 2009 until August 2017 as the Director General of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai Peninsula. At the Department of State, Satterfield served as Coordinator for Iraq and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission in Iraq, Assistant Secretary of State (Acting) for Near Eastern Affairs, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Chief of Mission in Cairo, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon.
