UN chief appoints former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop as UN special envoy for Myanmar

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as his special envoy for Myanmar. The post has been vacant for 10 months as the country’s conflict escalated into the worst violence since the military takeover in 2021. Bishop will replace Noeleen Heyzer, a former U.N. undersecretary-general for Singapore who left at the end of her contract in June 2023. Heyzer said before leaving that the impact of the military’s ouster of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi has been “devastating,” with violence continuing “at an alarming scale.” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced Bishop’s appointment on Friday, saying she “brings extensive political, legal, management and senior leadership experience to the role.”