Vanessa Frazier Appointed UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict : Shared by Margherita Amodeo

Vanessa Frazier appointed to top UN role, in 'historic first' for Malta

Times of Malta, October 3, 2025
Click here for the article.

Summary
Senior Maltese diplomat Vanessa Frazier has been appointed as the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, marking what Malta’s foreign minister called a “historic first” for the country.

In this new role, Frazier will advocate globally for the protection and rights of children affected by war, tackling issues such as child recruitment, sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals. She succeeds Virginia Gamba of Argentina, who held the position for eight years.

Frazier, who served as Malta’s Permanent Representative to the UN from 2020 to 2025 and previously presided over the UN Security Council in 2023–2024, brings decades of diplomatic experience. She described her selection as an honor after a demanding process involving “many candidates from large donor states” and said she aims to bring relief to children suffering in conflicts worldwide. The UN statement announcing her appointment highlighted her “multilateral diplomatic expertise, crisis management skills, and dedication to child protection.”

Quotes

• “That I made it through to the end of the process and was selected is a huge honour. It’s a massive responsibility,” Frazier said.

• “It’s a big responsibility,” she added. “I have been dedicated to this dossier throughout my UN posting and I hope to bring relief to the hundreds of thousands of affected children in conflicts all over the globe.”

• The UN cited her “ability to navigate complex global negotiations and broker agreements among diverse stakeholders.”