Nicholas Haysom

Nicholas Roland Leybourne "Fink" Haysom (born 21 April 1952) is a South African lawyer and diplomat who focuses on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reforms and the reconciliation and peace process. Since 2021, he has been serving as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).[1]

Nicholas Haysom
Haysom sitting for a 2009 interview with Talal Al-Haj (right)
Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan
Assumed office
15 January 2021
Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres
Preceded byDavid Shearer
Special Adviser for Southern Africa
In office
October 2020 – January 2021
Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres
Special Adviser on Sudan
In office
2019 – October 2020
Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres
Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia
In office
1 October 2018 – 2019
Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres
Preceded byMichael Keating
Succeeded byJames C. Swan
Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan
In office
March 2016 – October 2018
Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon
António Guterres
Preceded byHaile Menkerios
Succeeded byMandate concluded
Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
In office
September 2014 – March 2016
Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon
Preceded byJán Kubiš
Succeeded byTadamichi Yamamoto
Director for Political Affairs in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General
In office
May 2007 – 2012
Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon
Preceded byCarlos Lopes
Head of the Office of Constitutional Support for the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq
In office
2005–2007
Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan
Ban Ki-moon
Chief Legal and Constitutional Adviser in the Office of the President of South Africa
In office
May 1994 – 1999
PresidentNelson Mandela
Personal details
Born (1952-04-21) 21 April 1952
Durban, South Africa
Occupation
  • Diplomat
  • UN official
  • jurist
  • legal scholar
  • professor

Early life and education

Haysom was schooled at Michaelhouse in Natal, South Africa. Subsequently, he earned a degree in law from the University of Natal and the University of Cape Town, where was president of the Students Representative Council. In 2012, he also received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Cape Town.[2]

In 1976 Haysom became president of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) at a time when the anti-apartheid student organization was in disarray following the arrest of many of its leaders.[3] He was jailed four times by the regime, including periods where he was kept in solitary confinement.[4][5]

Career

Haysom served as an associate professor of law and deputy director at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University, Wits) until May 1994.

In 1979, Haysom joined fellow Wits academics Halton Cheadle and Clive Thompson to become the founding partners of the human rights law firm of Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Attorneys in Johannesburg. He served as a senior lawyer with the practice and litigated high-profile human rights cases as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa during 1981 to 1993.

United Nations

Haysom has held high-level positions within both the United Nations and the Government of South Africa. During the period of 1999 to 2002, Haysom was involved in the Burundi peace talks and held the position as chair of the committee negotiating constitutional issues. Prior to joining the United Nations in 2005, he held the position of principal adviser to the mediator in the Sudanese Peace Process and as chief legal and constitutional adviser in the office of South African President Nelson Mandela. From 2005 to 2007, Haysom held the position of head of the Office of Constitutional Support for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). From 2007 to 2012, he held the position of director for Political, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs in the Executive Office of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.[6]

In 2012, Haysom was appointed by Ban as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and in 2014 he was appointed as Special Representative of the mission.[7][8] Succeeding Haile Menkerios, he was appointed as Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan in March 2016.[9]

In 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Haysom as his Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).[10] After only four months,[11] he was expelled from the country on 1 January 2019 by the Somali government under the administration of Muhamed Abdullahi which claimed that he had threatened the sovereignty of the country after questioning the legal basis of the arrest of Mukhtar Robow. The United Nations Security Council expressed regret at Somalia’s decision to expel a U.N. envoy who questioned the arrest of an extremist group defector-turned-political candidate.[12]

After leaving his position, Haysom served as the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sudan during 2019 to 2020[11] and on Southern Africa during 2020 to 2021.[1] On 15 January 2021, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced Haysom's appointment as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).[1]

Recognition

Haysom received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from New York Law School in 2019.[13]

Works
  • Ruling with the Whip: A report on the Violation of Human Rights in the Ciskei. Johannesburg: Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the Whitwatersrand. 1983. ISBN 9780854948000.
  • Carnegie II Conference Papers: Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty and Development in Southern Africa. Cape Town: Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town. 1984. ISBN 9780799208535.
  • Constitutional Court for South Africa. Johannesburg: Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the Witwatersrand. 1991. ISBN 9781874856535. OCLC 502427946.
  • Dugard, John; Haysom, Nicholas; Marcus, Gilbert (1992). The Last Years Of Apartheid: Civil Liberties In South Africa. New York: Ford Foundation and Foreign Policy Association. ISBN 9780871241450. OCLC 801787619.
  • Mabangalala: The Rise of Right-Wing Vigilantes in South Africa. Johannesburg: Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the Witwatersrand. 1996. ISBN 9780854949199.
  • Cheadle, Halton; Davis, Dennis; Haysom, Nicholas (2002). South African Constitutional Law: The Bill of Rights (1st ed.). Johannesburg: Butterworths. ISBN 9780409018233.

References
  1. "Secretary-General Appoints Nicholas Haysom of South Africa Special Representative in South Sudan". United Nations (Press release). 15 January 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  2. "Eight honorary doctorates to be awarded in 2012". University of Cape Town. 12 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. National Union of South African Students (November 1981). "Fifty seven years of NUSAS - Have we learned our lessons?" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2022 – via JSTOR.
  4. http://www.historicalpapers.wits.ac.za/inventories/inv_pdft/AG3298/AG3298-1-062-text.pdf
  5. "Legal Resources Centre (LRC) Oral History Project – Fink Haysom" (PDF). Historical Papers Archive, University of the Witwatersrand (Interview). 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  6. "Secretary-General Appoints Nicholas Haysom of South Africa Executive Office Political Affairs Director". United Nations (Press release). 16 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. "Secretary-General Appoints Nicholas Haysom of South Africa Special Representative for Afghanistan". United Nations (Press release). 25 September 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  8. "Nicholas Haysom of South Africa appointed as new UN envoy for Afghanistan". United Nations. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  9. "Secretary-General Appoints Nicholas Haysom of South Africa Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan". United Nations (Press release). Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  10. "Mr. Nicholas Haysom of South Africa - Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM)". Office of the United Nations Secretary-General (Press release). 12 September 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  11. Besheer, Margaret (16 April 2019). "UN Chief Appoints Adviser to Help AU Mediation in Sudan". Voice of America. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  12. "Somalia expels UN envoy Nicholas Haysom". BBC News. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  13. "New York Law School 2019 Commencement Program". issuu. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
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