Oct. 11 - Filippo Grandi
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Challenges and Opportunities: The refugee question in a complex world.
Currently, there are over 60 million refugees and displaced persons in the world. A historical record number, for whom the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is chartered to provide shelter, food, protection, education, all the basics of a continuation of acceptable living conditions. All with the priority objective of helping Refugees to return to their region of origin. Or, if this proves impossible, to find permanent settlement elsewhere in the world.
In our current world situation, the political, cultural and religious conflicts present extreme challenging conditions, which require very sophisticated interactions with the countries and political regimes concerned.
Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner since January 2016, has accepted to address the AIC on the subject of "Challenges and Opportunities: The refugee question in a complex world"
Grandi has a unique experience in all dimensions of his difficult task. He started his career in the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1988, and has served in a variety of countries, including Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq after the first Gulf War. He also headed a number of emergency operations including in Kenya, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa, Yemen and Afghanistan. Between 1996 and 1997, he was Field Coordinator for UNHCR and United Nations humanitarian activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the civil war. From 1997 to 2001, he worked in the Executive Office of the UNHCR in Geneva, as Special Assistant and then Chief of Staff. From 2001 to 2004, he served as the UNHCR's Chief of Mission.
He then moved to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in 2004, where he served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General responsible for political affairs from 2004–2005. In 2005 he moved to UNRWA, first as Deputy Commissioner-General and then from 2010 as Commissioner-General.
BSCC Members can benefit from the AIC Members Price
Event sponsored by
Location:
Hôtel Métropole
34 quai Général Guisan
Geneva
1204