Cyprus Mail, 5 October 2026
In April 1988, he was appointed director and senior political advisor to the representative of the secretary-general on the settlement of the situation relating to Afghanistan.
In January 1990, he was also asked to serve as the secretary-general’s representative on the implementation of the Geneva Agreements on Afghanistan. In January 1991, secretary-general of the day Javier Perez de Cuellar decided that Sevan should also assume the responsibility for the overall administration of the Office for the Coordination of UN Humanitarian and Economic Assistance Programmes Relating to Afghanistan.
He served in this capacity up to 1992, and in his tenure fell the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the botched – or sabotaged – attempt to create a post-Geneva Afghan interim government, bringing together moderate mujahedin, the former King and non-PDPA elements of the Najibullah government.
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This article was last updated on 8 Oct 2026
