Ambassador Omar Zniber, President of the 18th cycle

Ambassador Omar Zniber has been the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva since April 2018. On 10 January 2024, Mr. Zniber was elected President of the Human Rights Council for 2024.

Mr. Zniber has held several positions at the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, serving as Director of the United Nations and International Organizations Directorate (1999-2003), Head of the United Nations Division (1996-1999) and Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1986-1989).

From 2011 to 2018, Mr. Zniber was Ambassador of Morocco to Germany. He previously served as Ambassador of Morocco to Austria, with concurrent accreditation to Slovakia and Slovenia, and as Permanent Representative to the international organizations in Vienna.

Mr. Zniber has chaired several intergovernmental conferences in Geneva and Vienna, including the International Labour Conference, the General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, the Executive Council for Industrial Development and the Organization for Security and Co-operation Mediterranean Conference in Europe in Rabat.

From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Zniber served as a Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Morocco in Geneva where he oversaw disarmament affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.

Mr. Zniber holds a master’s degree in public law from Mohamed V University in Rabat as well as a diploma of advanced studies and a doctorate in public international law from Paris II Panthéon Assas University. He speaks Arabic, English and French.