UNITED NATIONS, Aug 11 (APP): Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rios of Argentina has been appointed as Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, it was officially announced Thursday.
Rear Admiral Rios succeeds Major General Jose Eladio Alcain of Uruguay, who will shortly complete his assignment.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who announced the appointment, said he was grateful to Major General Alcain for his contribution to United Nations peacekeeping efforts.
Rear Admiral Rios has had a distinguished career in the Argentinean Navy since 1988, when he graduated from the Navy Academy as Middleshipman, according to the UN. Most recently, he served as the General Director of Education, Training and Doctrine of the Joint Staff (2022). Prior to this, he was Marines Infantry Commander (Corps Commander) (2020-2021), Marines Infantry Fleet Commander (Brigade Commander) (2019), Education Department Chief, Navy Warfare School (2018), and Defence, Military, Naval and Air Attaché in the Russian Federation (2016-2018).
He was a Training Officer in a United States Marine Corps Regiment under a United States and Argentine Marines Exchange Programme (2002-2003).
Rear Admiral Guillermo Rios has served in two peacekeeping operations, including the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1993 and 1994 and the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in 2007. He has also served as a Humanitarian Demining Supervisor with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Angola (1997-1998).
Rear Admiral Ríos speaks fluent English and basic Portuguese and Russian. He holds Postgraduate degrees from the Naval University Institute and E-Salud University in Argentina.
UNMOGIP, which was established in 1949 to monitor the ceasefire line in Kashmir, is composed of 43 experts and 68 civilians.
