▶ Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Central Asia

Mr. Kaha Imnadze (ASG, Georgia)

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR CENTRAL ASIA, HEAD OF THE UN REGIONAL CENTRE FOR PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY FOR CENTRAL ASIA (UNRCCA)

Kaha Imnadze assumed the post of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) on 14 June 2023. He was appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres, succeeding Ms. Natalia Gherman.

Mr. Imnadze brings more than 30 years of experience in diplomacy, international relations, negotiation and mediation, foreign and security policy, conflict resolution, and political risk assessment. Most recently, from 2022 to 2023, Mr. Imnadze served as Ambassador of Georgia to Canada and as Permanent Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Prior to that, he served as Ambassador and as Permanent Representative of Georgia to the United Nations from 2013 to 2022. From 2012 to 2013, he was a Board Member of the Georgian Political Science Association. Between 2009 and 2013, he served as Program Director of the Georgian Institute for Russian Studies. From 2000 to 2003, he was Assistant to the President and Spokesman, as well as Director of the Georgian State Information Service. He also served as Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia from 1998 to 2000. Between 1994 and 1998, he was Deputy Chief of the Mission of Georgia to NATO and to the Embassy to the BENELUX countries.

Mr. Imnadze holds a master’s degree in English Language and Literature from Tbilisi State University.

He speaks Georgian (native), English, Russian and French.

Mr. Imnadze is married and has one daughter.

Mr. Philipp Saprykin (P-5 level, Russia)

DEPUTY HEAD OF THE UN REGIONAL CENTRE FOR PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY FOR CENTRAL ASIA (UNRCCA)

Philipp Saprykin was appointed as Deputy Head and as Senior Political Affairs Officer of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) on 14 November 2016, based in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Mr. Saprykin began his diplomatic career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in 1993. He subsequently held a series of international assignments in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (1995–1996), and Geneva, Switzerland (1996–2000). During this time, he was assigned to several roles across both the Legal Department and the Department for International Organizations within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

From 2002 to 2009, Mr. Saprykin was Deputy Director-General at the Council of the Baltic Sea States in Stockholm, Sweden, where he focused on economic, energy and transport cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. Between 2010 and 2011, he served as Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. He was Head of Unit in the Department for New Challenges and Threats (DNCT) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation from 2011 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2016. From 2013 to 2015, he worked at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as Head of the Programme Office and Senior Coordinator of the CARICC Project.

Mr. Saprykin holds a degree from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and a Ph.D. in International Law from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

He speaks Russian (native), English and French.

Born in 1967, Mr. Saprykin has two children.

Mr. Armands Pupols (P-4 level, Latvia)

HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS OFFICER OF THE UN REGIONAL CENTRE FOR PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY FOR CENTRAL ASIA (UNRCCA)

Armands Pupols currently serves as Human Rights and Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA). In this capacity, he supports regional initiatives focused on the promotion of human rights, the prevention of violent extremism, and efforts to counter terrorism.

Mr. Pupols brings over 30 years of experience in international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), with a focus on political, socioeconomic, and human rights issues. His work has spanned Central Asia, the Western Balkans, and Africa.

Mr. Pupols began his international career in the 1990s with OSCE field missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2001, he was posted to the OSCE Centre in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and later served at the Conflict Prevention Centre within the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna.

In 2008, Mr. Pupols joined UNRCCA, where he was responsible for promoting interaction and cooperation between Central Asia and Afghanistan. He subsequently served with the African Union - United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in Sudan before returning to UNRCCA in 2019.

Mr. Pupols holds a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration with a focus on economics and finance from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. He earned a Master of Arts in International Relations, specializing in international law, finance, and economics, from the Budapest Institute for Graduate International and Diplomatic Studies at Budapest University of Economic Science in Hungary. He also holds a Diploma in Economics with a concentration in economics and finance from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Latvia. Additionally, Mr. Pupols completed undergraduate studies in philosophy at the Faculty of History and Philosophy, University of Latvia.

Mr. Pupols speaks Latvian (native), English, Russian and German.

Mr. Andrey Khanzhin (P-3 level, Russia)

POLITICAL AFFAIRS OFFICER OF THE UN REGIONAL CENTRE FOR PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY FOR CENTRAL ASIA (UNRCCA) 

Andrey Khanzhin was appointed as Political Affairs Officer of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) on 22 February 2021.

Mr. Khanzhin brings over 20 years of experience in political affairs, human rights, conflict prevention, and programme management in complex and high-risk environments. He has worked extensively in Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Eastern Europe, with a focus on minority rights, inclusive governance, and social cohesion.

From 2015 to 2020, Mr. Khanzhin served as Senior Adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) in Hague, Netherlands. From 2010 to 2015, he held the position of Political Adviser with the HCNM. In these roles, he provided strategic advice on inter-ethnic conflict prevention and minority protection, managed projects, and led field assessments across the OSCE region.

Between 2009 and 2010, he was Country Manager for International Alert in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. From 2008 to 2009, he served as Regional Coordinator for the Danish Refugee Council in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. From 2007 to 2008, he worked as Project Manager and Civil Society Coordinator for the Danish Refugee Council in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Earlier, Mr. Khanzhin held the position of Programme Manager at the European Centre for Minority Issues in Tbilisi, Georgia (2006–2007). He also served as Project Coordinator for the Centre’s regional initiative on Meskhetian Turks (2005–2006). From 2002 to 2003, he worked as UN Liaison Officer with UNDP in Osh, Kyrgyzstan.

Mr. Khanzhin earned a Master’s degree in History from the Russian State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg and a Master’s degree in Gender and Culture from the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.

He speaks Russian (native), English and Dutch.

Mr. Andriy Larin (P-3 level, Ukraine)

POLITICAL AFFAIRS OFFICER OF THE UN REGIONAL CENTRE FOR PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY FOR CENTRAL ASIA (UNRCCA)

Andriy Larin has served as Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, since 2017.

Mr. Larin brings over three decades of experience in international peace and security, political affairs, and field operations in complex environments. He began his international career as part of the Ukrainian Military Contingent in United Nations peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993 and again from 1994 to 1995. Between 2004 to 2009, he worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan, where he contributed to the Afghanistan New Beginning Program, specifically within the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Project. Between 2009 and 2017, he served with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), first as Political Affairs Officer and later as Head of Field Office.

Mr. Larin holds a bachelor’s degree from the Kyiv Higher Combined Arms Command School and a master’s degree in Political Science from the Military Political University.

He speaks Ukrainian (native), English, and Russian.

Born in 1964, Mr. Larin is married and has one daughter.