New York, New York, United States
TRANSITIONING FROM PEACEKEEPING TO DEVELOPMENT: Head and coordinate the programs and activities of 12 United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programs (AFPs), implementing specialized programs in Tanganyika Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. The AFPs include UNDP, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNHCR, IOM, FAO, UNMAS, UNESCO, WHO, OCHA, WFP, and UNFPA. Lead the AFPs to develop detailed joint workplans, elaborate the joint UN transition plan, design and implement programs funded by the UN Peace Building Fund (PBF), and bring all stakeholders together to identify gaps and jointly respond through the Triple Nexus Approach. Engage the local authorities to ensure that they fully understand and participate in the development process. Provide the overall leadership and the management of UN personnel in Tanganyika Province.
OVERSAW THE MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY CONFLICTS: Tanganyika Province is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that was created in 2015. Following its creating, the province was immediately engulfed in a a recurrent ethnic conflict between Bantu and Twa communities. Between 2016 and 2019, the conflict resulted in the killing of over 3,500 civilians and displaced an estimated 790,000 persons. As the Head of Office, I represented the United Nations in Tanganyika Province in charge of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission and the operations of the UN Agencies, Funds and Programs (AFPs); lead and managed 350 UN personnel and over 3,000 military (INDOBATT) at the field office level; supervised substantive sections including political affairs, human rights and civil affairs, and child protection; DDR, monitor human rights violations, electoral processes and resolved community conflicts; coordinated substantive sections, AFPs and the local authorities to respond to the protracted community conflict between Bantu and Twa tribes that significantly disrupted the livelihoods of the population; and worked closely with UN AFPs and humanitarian actors to support the displaced persons. Engaged the local authorities and travelled throughout the province to conduct dialogues between the communities and resolve conflicts; lead the UN components in developing detailed joint work plans; establish and maintain relationships with stakeholders such as NGOs and civil society; performs integrated reporting on mandate and program implementation; work directly with UN police military forces to respond to emerging security threats; oversaw the electoral process; lead stakeholders including civil society, local authorities, the youth, women groups and UN AFPs to design and implement MONUSCO’s exit strategy from Tanganyika; developed a transition plan; and successfully exited from Tanganyika Province in June 2022.
HEADED CIVILIAN AND MILITARY PERSONNEL TO PROTECT CIVILIANS: