Uruguayan general named chief of UN observer mission in India and Pakistan

UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appointed Major-General Raul Gloodtdofsky Fernandez of Uruguay as head of the United Nations mission in India and Pakistan, the UN announced Friday.Maj.-Gen. Gloodtdofsky, 58, will replace Major-General Kim Moon Hwa of South Korea as the Chief Military Observer and head of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).UNMOGIP was deployed in January 1949 to supervise the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in the disputed State of Jammu and Kashmir.Since the 1971 war, the mission monitors the ceasefire called for by the Security Council.The group is composed of 42 military observers, supported by 23 international civilian personnel and 48 local civilian staff. The military observers are drawn from Chile, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Philippines, South Korea, Sweden and Uruguay.The secretary-general expressed his gratitude to Maj.-Gen. Kim, who completed his assignment on 27 November, for his exemplary and highly professional service in UNMOGIP over the past two years, the announcement said.The Secretary-General said Maj.-Gen. Gloodtdofsky brings extensive and wide-ranging experience, including significant command expertise and prior service in UN peacekeeping to his new position. He joined the Uruguayan army in 1972 and is currently a division commander.Between September 2006 and November 2007, Maj.-Gen. Gloodtdofsky erved as Deputy Force Commander of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and, in 1991, as a Military Observer in UNMOGIP. He was also the Military Adviser of the Permanent Mission of Uruguay to the UN from 2001 to 2003 – App