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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 03 October 2025 the appointment of Vanessa Frazier of Malta as his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.  She succeeds Virginia Gamba of Argentina, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service and commitment to the United Nations. 

The Secretary-General also wishes to extend his appreciation to Najat Maalla M’jid, his Special Representative on Violence against Children, who is serving as his Acting Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict until Ms. Frazier assumes her position.

Ms. Frazier, who recently served as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations in New York, United States (2020-2025), 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, having played a pivotal role as Chair of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict. 

She presided over the Security Council in February 2023 and April 2024, and as UN Security Council Facilitator of the Iran/Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement and Chair of the 1267 Sanctions Committee on Al Qaeda/Da’esh, advanced human rights, child protection, and humanitarian language.  As an advocate for the E10 group of elected UN Security Council members, she was instrumental in shaping international responses to pressing crises, ensuring that the voices of the most vulnerable, especially children, remained at the forefront with focus on the protection of children affected by conflict.  She also served as Vice President of the seventy-fourth UN General Assembly and Chair of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), leading the first and only all-women bureau in UN history. 

During her diplomatic career, Ms. Frazier served as Ambassador, Embassy of Malta, Rome, Italy (2013-2019); Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta (2012-2013); Ambassador for Migration, Office of the Prime Minister, Malta (2012-2016); and Ambassador, Embassy of Malta, Brussels, Belgium (2012-2013). 

Ms. Frazier holds a Doctorate Honoris Causa in Humane Letters from Luther College, in Decorah, Iowa, United States (2018-2019), and a Masters in Diplomatic Studies with major in International Law from the University of Malta (1993-1995).  She is fluent in Maltese, English, and Italian.