Our Team in Iraq

Mr. Claudio Cordone of Italy assumed his responsibilities as Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on 14 August 2022.
Appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres on 11 July 2022, Mr. Cordone brings to this position more than 35 years of experience in international relations, international human rights and humanitarian law, including as Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Lebanon, where he has been serving since 2017. During this time, he also briefly served as the interim Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon. Previously, he served as Director of the Human Rights, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Division with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), as well as Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the country (2013-2017). He worked with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and spent over 25 years with Amnesty International in multiple capacities, including a six-month tenure as interim Secretary General in 2010. From 1997 to 1998, he served as Chief of the Human Rights Office with the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH).
Mr. Cordone holds a law degree from Sapienza University of Rome and completed a Master of Arts in Arab Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Mr. Cordone speaks English, French, Italian and Arabic.

Mr. Isaczai took up his role in Iraq as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary ‎General, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in October 2022, after serving as UN ‎Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan. ‎
Prior to that, he served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic ‎Republic of Afghanistan to the UN in New York. ‎
Mr. Isaczai brings to the job over 25 years of work experience in the UN system covering ‎complex humanitarian, development, recovery, and peace-building issues in different parts of ‎the world, including serving as UN Resident Coordinator to the Republic of Azerbaijan (2016) ‎and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2013). He also served as the UNDP and UNFPA ‎Resident Representative in both countries.‎
Mr. Isaczai served in other senior leadership and management positions within the UN system, ‎including as Director of Program at the United Nations Volunteers in Bonn, Germany; UNDP ‎Senior Advisor and Country Director a.i in Tajikistan, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative and ‎Head of Program in Nepal, and Assistant Resident Representative in Yemen. He also served in ‎Afghanistan, and Syria with the UN system. ‎
Before joining the UN system, Mr. Isaczai held positions with the Swedish Committee for ‎Afghanistan and Save the Children-US in Peshawar, Pakistan, and worked with the private ‎sector in the United States.‎
Mr. Isaczai holds an M.A. in Public International Law from the Fletcher School of Law and ‎Diplomacy, Tufts University, a BSc in Business Administration from Midland University, a ‎Diploma in Human Development from Jones International University, and courses on ‎negotiations and conflict resolution from Harvard University.‎
He is fluent in Pashto, Dari/Farsi, and English and has a working knowledge of Arabic.‎

Dr. Ahmed ZOUITEN, a Medical Doctor and a Public Health Professional from Fes, Morocco, graduated from the School of Medicine in Mohamed V University in Rabat.
Passion for humanity and for contributing to the betterment of people’s lives and their health conditions, in particular, has been a propelling force in my career. Fighting HIV was my first endeavor which I pursued passionately when treating AIDS patients in many countries in Africa and southeast Asia as a member of Médecins Sans Frontières MSF
I sustained the same passion when I joined the World Health Organization in 2006 and assumed different responsibilities at the country level as well as in WHO headquarters with a focus on HIV in Humanitarian settings initially before converging into Health Emergencies. In 2010, I led the Global Health Cluster and had the privilege to coordinate the health response in several major emergencies (Haiti 2010, Somalia 2011, Syria 2012, Mali 2013, Iraq 2014, and Yemen 2017)
In 2018, appointed as WHO representative in Djibouti, I focused on assisting the country in improving the health system’s performance and achieving progress towards Universal Health Coverage and Health related Sustainable Development goals. I always believed in a world where Health is a fundamental human right and not merely a privilege for those who can afford it, and I’m proud to uphold this principle as I join the WHO Country Office in Iraq as WHO Representative and Head of Mission.

Mr. Ali El-Bereir is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Senior Programme Coordinator and Head of its Iraq Office in Baghdad. He brings to his role substantive and managerial experience in developing, negotiating, implementing and monitoring technical assistance programmes, as well as in building and maintaining close partnerships with relevant stakeholders in government, private sector and civil society organizations.
Mr. EL-Bereir joined UNODC in 2014 as Programme Coordinator & Head of the Sub-Regional Programme Office for the Maghreb Countries with ROMENA, based in Tripoli, Libya, and since then served in various capacities, including as UNODC Deputy Regional Representative for the UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) a.i.
Before joining UNODC, Mr.El-Bereir worked as: Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Support Mission to Libya (UNSMIL); Human Rights Officer and Human Rights Officer (Investigator) with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva; Rule of Law/Judicial Affairs Officer with the United Nations Mission In Sudan (UNMIS); with the Judiciary in Sudan; in the private sector and with a Sudanese NGO. He earned a post graduate degree in Human Rights Law from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. He is fluent in Arabic and English.

Ally-Raza Qureshi joins the WFP Iraq team following a long career in humanitarian and emergency response, development and also the private sector. He is a national of Pakistan and began his career as a Chartered Accountant. Ally has worked with WFP for 20 years, starting with the Oversight Department as an internal auditor, subsequently Head of Area Office in El-Fasher, Darfur, Sudan; WFP Bangladesh Deputy Representative; and at HQ the Deputy Director for Resource Management and Programming, Deputy Director for WFP’s corporate transformative project- the Integrated Road Map and acting Director of Corporate Planning and Performance Management. Ally was recently WFP Deputy Representative in Yemen, where he successfully led the expansion of the programme to support over 13 million Yemenis. Ally is passionate about helping communities through resilience and livelihood programmes, and social protection systems addressing their needs. He is an advocate for green energy and for combating climate change. Ally has been in Iraq for nine months as WFP Iraq Representative. Since then, he has been on supporting WFP’s programmes aimed at addressing climate change challenges to Iraq, supporting youth through livelihood skills training and access to finance and supporting Government through strengthening Government social protection systems.

Auke Lootsma is the Resident Representative for UNDP Iraq office since 28 November 2022, ‎before this he was the Resident Representative of UNDP Yemen office from February 2019 to ‎November 2022. He started in Yemen as Country Director in August 2016. ‎
His career with UNDP began in 1994. In the recent past, he was the Country Director in ‎Rwanda; Senior Recovery Advisor in Ukraine; Deputy Country Director (Programme) in Sudan; ‎and Deputy Resident Representative (Programme) in Uganda. Mr. Lootsma holds a Master of ‎Science in Business Administration and Development Economics.‎

Christian Ritscher is an Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and serves as the Special Adviser and Head of the Investigative Team established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2379 (2017), to promote accountability efforts for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Da’esh/ISIL.
Mr. Ritscher previously served as a Federal Public Prosecutor at the German Federal Court of Justice, with more than 30 years of professional experience in international and domestic criminal law prosecutions and investigations. He was Head of the German War Crimes Unit S4, which is responsible for the prosecution and charging of individuals in Germany in relation to international crimes, that may have been committed elsewhere, including in Iraq and Syria. This included prosecutions against alleged members of ISIL (Da’esh) for genocide committed against the Yazidi community in Iraq in 2014, as well as other charges of international crimes.
Mr. Ritscher holds a law degree from the University of Passau and State Exam in Law of the Free State of Bavaria.

Ms. Danielle Bell has served as the Chief of the Human Rights Office, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Representative in Iraq of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) since 2018. She has spent more than two decades promoting human rights globally, leading human rights teams in conflict and post-conflict contexts, including Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, Sudan and Timor-Leste. In her current role, Ms. Bell leads a team of 50 national and international human rights staff to implement human rights activities mandated by the UN Security Council Resolution 2522 (2020).
This includes strategic development and leadership on the human rights and protection priority areas in Iraq, including: early warning, prevention and protection of human rights in situations of conflict and insecurity; strengthening rule of law and accountability for human rights violations; child protection; conflict related sexual violence; enhancing equality and countering discrimination; enhancing and Protecting Civic Space and People’s Participation. Ms. Bell holds a MSt. in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford and MA and BA degrees (distinction) from the University of Victoria.

Dina Zorba, UN Women Iraq and Yemen Country Representative, has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of human and women’s rights, gender equality, communication and media.
Ms. Zorba has been serving as UN Women Iraq Country representative since February 2017, and as Head of Office/Representative in Yemen since December 2014. Before that, between 2005-2014, she served in leading positions with UNIFEM, UNFPA and UNESCO.
Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Zorba had a successful career as a media practitioner, trainer and defender of press freedom, acting as editor-in-chief and publisher of Sharqiyat magazine, published in Jordan. She has also worked with several regional and international UN and other non-profit organizations offering technical support and training to journalists and human rights defenders around the world.
Ms. Zorba holds an MA degree in Business Administration and Management from the American InterContinental University, Illinois, and a BA degree in Economics from the American University of Cairo.

Eric Buchot leads ITC’s operations in Iraq which primarily focuses on strengthening agribusiness value chain and improving trade policy. With two decades of experience in the public and private sectors supporting trade competitiveness and development, he has worked on projects in more than 40 countries and across a range of economic sectors. Mr. Buchot has led some of ITC’s largest trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) initiatives, including in complex and post-conflict environments. Most recently, these have included the national trade strategies for Iran and Afghanistan.
Prior to joining ITC in 2006, Eric Buchot worked at UNCTAD’s Advisory Services on Investment and as a business unit manager for a global trading corporation. Mr. Buchot is also an Associate Professor at Grenoble Alps University, Faculty of Economy, European and International Studies.

Gazi Shbaikat is the IMF Resident Representative for Iraq and Yemen since January 2021. Previously, Mr. Shbaikat worked in several countries in the Middle East and Central Asia Department in the IMF since 2010. Between 2006-2009, he worked in the Government of the Heshemite Kingdom of Jordan as Head of the National Statistics Office and Minister of Labour. Mr. Shbaikat holds Ph.D. in Economics.

Ghaliah Faraj is a Programme Officer at Arab Bureau of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). She is from Kuwait where she was born and raised and holds an advanced degree in Global Management from the University of San Francisco. She joined UNIDO headquarters in Vienna as a JPO from Kuwait in 2015 in the Donor Relations department and moved on to the Arab Bureau in 2018.

Giorgi Gigauri joined the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2004. As Chief of Mission for IOM Iraq, since October 2021, he is also the Coordinator of the United Nations Network on Migration and Co-Chair of the UN Durable Solutions Taskforce.
Prior to his current appointment Mr. Gigauri, a Georgian national, was IOM Chief of Mission in Bangladesh, where he was the UN Co-Coordinator of the Rohingya Refugee Operation and co-led the points of entry pillar of the UN COVID-19 health emergency response. He has also served as the Chief of Mission in Papua New Guinea, working on community stabilization, peacebuilding, and humanitarian emergencies, including the 2015 drought crisis.
Mr. Gigauri has held various positions in the Asia-Pacific region and in Eastern Europe, focusing on humanitarian assistance, protection, and sustainable development. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Oxford and speaks three languages.

Jean-Nicolas Beuze worked for more than 23 years with the United Nations in the areas of Human Rights (OHCHR), Peacekeeping (DPKO) and Child Protection/education (UNICEF) at Headquarters and in the field (Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Afghanistan and the Middle-East and North Africa region) before joining UNHCR in Lebanon as Deputy Representative for Protection and Inter-Agency Coordination (2013/16). Prior to joining UNHCR, he was the UNICEF Child Protection Advisor for the MENA region (2010/13) after having been the Deputy Director of the Human Rights Unit of UN Peace-Keeping/DPKO mission in Afghanistan/UNAMA (2008/10). He previously worked as a Research Director in a human rights think-tank (International Council on Human Rights Policy). Prior to joining UNHCR in Iraq, he was the Representative in Yemen (2020/21) and in Canada (2017/19). Jean-Nicolas Beuze holds a LL.M in international human rights law from Essex University, UK, and a Master in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International Relations, Geneva/Switzerland.

Dr. Maha Kattaa is the ILO Country Coordinator in Iraq, overseeing a portfolio of projects and the implementation of the Iraq Decent Work Country Programme. Dr. Kattaa is also the Senior Resilience and Crisis Response Specialist for the ILO Regional Office for Arab States supporting Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, in addition to Iraq.
Between 2013 and 2018, Dr. Kattaa was leading the ILO Response to the Refugee Crisis in Jordan, which is a development-focused and employment-driven response aimed at facilitating equal access to the labour market and promoting decent work for all.
Dr. Maha Kattaa joined the ILO in 2009, following 12 years of experience in academic and governmental fields, including four years at the Syrian State Planning Commission and eight years in managing short and long-term projects with the EU and UNDP. She holds a PhD in International Law and a Master Degree in International Economic Relations and was an associate professor at Aleppo University and Damascus University between 2004-2013.

Monique Maani has a Master’s degree in Social Science and extensive experience in humanitarian affairs in the region. Monique has served as the Head of the Field Coordination Unit with OCHA Syria (2019-2022) and with UNAMI and UNDP in Iraq (2009-2011 & 2013-2018). She has also worked with UNDP as a coordination specialist in Libya (2012-2013) and as a Humanitarian Affairs Officer with UNMIS in Juba, South Sudan (2006-2008).

Mr. Mounir Tabet (Canada) took up his official functions as Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on the 7th of September 2018.
Prior to this, Mr. Tabet served as the UNDP Country Director for Iraq (2016-2018) where he oversaw the program on stabilization and transition.
From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Tabet served as the UN & UNDP Resident Coordinator in Tunisia, providing support to the transition including on electoral support, constitution making, parliamentary effectiveness and anti-corruption.
Previously, Mr. Tabet was the Country Director of UNDP Egypt (2007-2013) where he led support to development efforts. From 2004-2007 he was the Senior Program Advisor in the Regional Bureau for Arab States in UNDP HQ in New York.
Previously, Mr. Tabet was Edward S. Mason fellow at Harvard University – the Kennedy School of Government. There, he completed a Masters degree in Public Administration. He also holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Ottawa.
Between 1989 and 2003, Mr Tabet served in a variety of country and HQ positions with UNDP. Prior to joining UNDP, Mr. Tabet worked with the North South Institute and the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa and the University of Ottowa.

Mr. Akram holds a Master degree in Economics and has over 20 years of experience in the UN system and the non-governmental organization in the humanitarian and development sector. Prior to joining UNOPS, Mr. Akram fulfilled different positions; the acting Head of the RCO for Iraq, Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor for UNDP serving the Arab States Region and the Europe. Mr. Akram worked as the Head of Programme at UNOPS and Since January 2019, he has been the Director for the Operational Hub in Amman.

Mr. Nestor Owomuhangi, a national of Uganda, assumed his responsibilities as the UNFPA Representative to Iraq at the end of February 2023. Prior to joining the Iraq Country Office, he served as the Deputy Representative and Representative at the Yemen Country Office. While in Yemen, Mr. Owomuhangi successfully positioned UNFPA as a key humanitarian player, ensuring that UNFPA assumed leadership of the Rapid Response Mechanism through which UN’s frontline relief assistance is provided to populations fleeing fighting and natural disasters.
Mr. Owomuhangi is not new to Iraq. Before his assignment in Yemen, he served as the UNFPA Deputy Representative for Iraq Country Office from 2014 to 2018. Where he helped expand and manage a complex humanitarian and development operation, including the humanitarian response for the liberation of Mosul City. Prior to joining Iraq, he worked as the International Programme Specialist for the UNFPA Country Office in Lesotho from 2008 to 2014 and as a National Programme Officer at UNFPA Uganda Country Office from 1999, initially on secondment to UNHCR as a Reproductive Health Focal Point.
Mr. Owomuhangi brings over 28 years of experience in the humanitarian and development sector, much of which has been with UNFPA and the UN system. He holds a master’s degree in Population and Reproductive Health from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Ouarda DERAFA is currently holding the position of Portfolio Manager for UNV Regional Office for Arab States. She was previously serving as Portfolio Specialist from 2018 to 2020 at UNV Dakar Regional Office for West and Central Africa, after assuming from 2014 – 2017 the functions of Program Officer at Burkina Faso where she worked on portfolio related to sustaining peace cross border initiatives, civic engagement and youth empowerment. Prior to this, she worked as human rights specialist with international NGOs in Geneva and in the Palestinian Territories. She has also been consulting with ILO (Geneva), UNDP and the private sector (France) in development project appraisal, business intelligence and partnerships. Ouarda holds a master in International Law and Political Sciences from Lyon III University- France.

Paolo Fontani has rich experience working with UNESCO, including roles as Director of the UNESCO Office in Afghanistan and Director of the Liaison Office in Brussels and Representative to the European Institutions. Paolo has been building on UNESCO’s longstanding cooperation with Iraq in order to successfully manage one of UNESCO’s most ambitious country programmes in terms of its global portfolio, supported by significant funding commitments from the donor community.

Mr. Pehr Lodhammar is the Chief Mine Action Programme in Iraq, managing all international and national staff in the program, in addition to donor relations and resource mobilization. As a key advocate for the mine action sector in Iraq, he is often involved with coordination with the highest levels of the Iraqi government, and represents UNMAS at international venues and conferences. Mr. Lodhammar holds a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, and has more than 31 years of military and humanitarian mine action experience.

Mr Hajj Hassan, a national of Lebanon, holds a Ph.D. in Plant Production from the University of Agriculture, Damascus, Syria; a Master of Science degree in Plant Production and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering, both from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
He started his career in 1984, as Senior Research Assistant in the Agricultural Research and Education Centre (AREC), American University of Beirut. From 1987 to 1991, he was Coordinator of the Student Training Programme, and also Agriculture and Horticultural Teacher for the Faculty of Agriculture, at the Lebanese University.
From 1991 to 1995, he worked as Agricultural Engineer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Bekaa Regional Office, Zahlah and was then assigned to the Agricultural Research Institute in the Tal Amara station, first as Head of the Crop Production Department and subsequently in charge of the Plant Protection Laboratory. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the Kfardane Research Station (Agricultural Research Institute). In 2008, he became Visiting Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and Coordinator of a project with the International Centre for Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.
In 2010, he served as Advisor to the Minister for Agriculture of Lebanon. In 2011, he became President of the Pesticide Scientific Committee, Head of the Phytoplasma Committee and Director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (ARDP) (EU-funded project). From 2010 to 2013, he represented Lebanon in negotiations with EU, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. During his career, Mr Hajj Hassan also carried out a number of other functions. He represented the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) in several research programmes with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the American University of Beirut. He was Coordinator of the Mashreq/Maghreb project with ICARDA, representing Lebanon in the Steering Committee, as well as being the Head of the Sugar-beet Delivery and of the Wheat Delivery Committees. For a number of years, Mr Hajj Hassan worked for the preparation of FAO TCP projects and served as the National Director of a TCP project. He joined FAO in January 2014 as FAO Representative in Yemen. Mr Hajj Hassan succeeds Mr El Zubi as FAO Representative in Iraq.

“With over 20 years of experience in management, Mr. Dimassi has extensive experience in multi-lateral and international relations, corporate and policy reform, intergovernmental affairs, strategy design and private sector engagement. Mr. Sami Dimassi joined the UNEP Regional Office for West Asia as Director and Regional Representative in 2017. He held several senior positions in the UN System, such as Senior ICT Advisor, Head of the Innovation Branch, Deputy Director of the Science division, Director of Private Sector Engagement, and Acting Director of Corporate Services all within UNEP. A Lebanese-Canadian national, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Ottawa University and a master’s in Management from Waterloo University in Canada.”

Ms. Sheema Sen Gupta has been appointed as the UNICEF Representative in Iraq on 23 January 2021. She has a long UNICEF career, spanning both development and complex humanitarian contexts.
Prior to her appointment to Iraq, Ms. Sen Gupta was the Deputy Representative of UNICEF Afghanistan since February 2019 and has assumed the role of Representative a.i. from November 2020 until April 2021. Prior to this, she was the Deputy Representative of UNICEF Bangladesh where she led the development programme as well as the Humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugee crisis with over 60% of the refugees were children and women.
Between 2011 and 2016, Ms. Sen Gupta was the Chief of Child Protection Programme in UNICEF Somalia – one of UNICEF’s largest and most complex Child Protection Programmes. Ms. Sen Gupta is well experienced in human rights in complex emergencies, in particular, negotiating children’s and women’s rights in crisis and fragile situations.
Ms. Sen Gupta’s career with UNICEF began in Child Protection, with a focus on developing Psychosocial Support Programmes for UNICEF’s emergency response, and this took her mostly to countries in crisis. In the last 19 years, she worked in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Ghana, Somalia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Ms. Sheema Sen Gupta, a Malaysian national, received her Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Calcutta University and a senior leadership certificate from Judge Business School, Cambridge University, United Kingdom.

Mr. Wael Al-Ashhab, a Jordanian/Canadian National, holds an engineering degree with more than 30 years of experience on policy development and programme management including 15 years in the private sector, in different capacities, inter alia including; project/programme management pertaining to urban and regional planning, and design and implementation of a wide range of infrastructure projects with distinguished international consulting engineering companies in Jordan, Kuwait and Lesotho.
Mr. Al-Ashhab joined UN-Habitat Iraq Programme in March 2007 as the Manager of Infrastructure and Basic Services Pillar until May 2011 when he was assigned as the Head of Country Programme for Sudan until June 2018, then he was assigned as the Head of Country Programme for Yemen, and was reassigned as the Head of Country Programme in Iraq in January 2020. He acquired extensive experience on leading country programmes in these countries, inter alia, includes policy and strategy formulation on urbanization and housing, and community-based intervention linking humanitarian, peace building and recovery/development interventions.