25 April 2023
Since the inception of UNDSS Zimbabwe 2015, the country has seen a total of six men Security Advisers (SA) assuming leadership roles. As part of the USG¡¯s deliberate gender parity policy, it was only befitting and timely that the newest SA for Zimbabwe is a woman. Ms. Fiona Beine becomes the seventh SA for Zimbabwe and the first woman SA for the country. This comes against the backdrop of the first woman Field Security Associate (FSA) joining the department last year. UNDSS Zimbabwe now counts with a team of twelve, four of whom are women. Whilst the 50-50 gender parity is yet to be achieved, important strides have been made.
In her first meeting with the UNDSS Zimbabwe team, Ms. Beine emphasised the importance of teamwork and standardisation of UNDSS work. ¡°I have not come to dismantle what is already in place, but to build on what is already in existence¡±, she remarked.
Barely two days after assuming her role, duty called Ms. Beine to travel more than 800km by road to enable the safe delivery of UN programmes. At the same time, the SA had to prioritize her tasks to attend a visit by the Africa Desk. On 25-29 April, UNDSS coordinated security arrangements with the Host Government to support the visit of the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UN personnel attending the Transform Africa Summit in Victoria Falls. The SA embraced the opportunity to network and meet with the DO, Heads of UNSMS entities in the country, the ITU Secretary-General and the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) who were very appreciative of UNDSS¡¯ work. UNDSS also capitalised on this mission to visit UNAFPOs field offices along the route as part of the security service. As a senior security professional in the country, Ms. Beine will keep providing reliable security leadership and solutions to enable United Nations programme delivery.