The President of the 63rd United Nations General Assembly today appointed His Excellency Ambassador Zahir Tanin, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and one of the Vice-Presidents of the 63rd session of the General Assembly, to chair the intergovernmental negotiations concerning Security Council reform. He will chair, on behalf of Afghanistan and in his own capacity as Permanent Representative, the negotiations which are undertaken as a result of Decision 62/557 adopted on 15 September 2008 by the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, which called for an informal plenary session to undertake intergovernmental negotiations. This Decision marked a new phase in the debate over Security Council reform.
Afghanistan was admitted as a member of the United Nations on 19 November 1946. This is the first time that a Permanent Representative of Afghanistan will have the opportunity to undertake intergovernmental negotiations and to serve the United Nations and the international community on an issue of such import to the future of the United Nations and the world.