Madar (Nouakchott) - The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of the UN General Assembly on Friday, 6 November, recommended Mauritania's candidate, Ambassador Sidi Ould Mohamed Lagdhaf, as chair of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), after he received 102 votes from 186 valid ballots in a second round, according to the UN's meeting coverage.
According to the same source, the committee had earlier recommended, after a first round of balloting, Sidi Ould Mohamed Lagdhaf and Henrietta Maria De Beer of Zimbabwe to represent the Group of African States on the ICSC, with 111 and 100 votes respectively out of 185 valid votes.
The Fifth Committee also recommended by acclamation three other candidates for the ICSC: Boguslaw Winid of Poland for the Group of Eastern European States, Joao Vargas of Brazil for the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, and Dietrich Lingenthal of Germany for the Group of Western European and other States.
The ICSC, a 15-member body, guides the General Assembly in setting salary and compensation levels for UN staff around the world. The recommended candidates would begin four-year terms on 1 January 2027 if the Assembly approves them.
Mauritania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad, in a statement issued on Friday evening and carried by the Mauritanian News Agency, described the election of the country's candidate to chair and sit on the commission for 2027-2030 as a new "diplomatic success" that it said reflects the "distinguished standing" Mauritania now enjoys internationally.
Sidi Ould Mohamed Lagdhaf had briefed a meeting of Arab ambassadors in New York on his candidacy in early November, as Mauritania took over the rotating presidency of the Arab Group at the UN.
