On 8 July 2013, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Bathily's appointment as his Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).[14] Less than a year later, on 30 April 2014, Ban Ki-moon announced Bathily's appointment as his Special Representative for Central Africa and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) in Libreville, Gabon.[15]