The Trump administration has asked the United Nations to remove Egyptian executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Ghada Waly, from her post, several weeks before her planned departure in November, according to a letter sent to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres earlier this month.
The U.S. “strongly recommend[ed]” Guterres replace Waly with Chhaya Kapilashrami, an American national who serves as the U.N. drug office’s deputy director for management and deputy head of the U.N. office in Vienna, as acting executive director.
It remained unclear why the U.S. decided to press for a change so late in Waly’s term, particularly as she would be stepping down in several weeks anyway. But it signaled a more proactive U.S. role at the U.N. drug agency at a time when the U.S. is militarizing its own policy towards the international drug trade, authorizing armed attacks against Venezuelan vessels accused of transporting drugs, and weighing military strikes against the South American country.
About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
