Our Team in Libya

On 2 September 2022, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal as his Special Representative for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Mr. Bathily brings to this position over 40 years of experience with his national Government, academic institutions, regional organizations and the United Nations system. In his most recent assignment with the United Nations, he served, in 2021, as the Independent Expert for the strategic review of UNSMIL.

Dr Zouiten has extensive and broad experience working in many different public health programmes from his time as WHO Representative to Iraq and, before that, as WHO Representative to Djibouti, as well as many years working in WHO headquarters, including in the fields of communicable and noncommunicable diseases and health system strengthening.
Dr Zouiten holds a Doctoral Degree in Health and Health Sciences from Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. He is also a qualified Medical Doctor.

Ms. Al-Madaien has over 20 years of experience in various positions within UNHCR in Egypt, Gulf Countries, Syria, Jordan and at the agency’s Headquarters in Geneva. Her experience is centered on protection and legal aspects but also includes various management positions with consistent emergency and field work throughout her career. Prior to joining UNHCR, Ms. Al-Madaien worked for the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in Jordan and provided protection expertise for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as well as a lawyer in Jordan and the United Kingdom. Ms. Al-Madaien has a master’s degree in international law from the University of London.

Christian has more than 25 years of experience in program management, strategic leadership, and policy advice. His professional expertise and leadership path includes a broad range of development and management areas, including governance and decentralization, human rights, community driven development, social cohesion and peacebuilding, and civil society and media support. For the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), he was heading governance and local development programs in countries in transition in Asia and Eastern Europe and was also serving at the UN Volunteers headquarter in Germany. He holds a PhD in law and a postgraduate diploma in international relations. With his team in the Arab region, he is promoting and enabling volunteerism within the UN system as a means to implement the 2030 agenda.

Since October 2022, Eric Falt is the Director (D2) of the UNESCO Regional Office for the Maghreb. He has over thirty years of experience in the United Nations. Between 2018 and 2022, he was Director of the UNESCO Office in New Delhi, covering South Asia. He joined UNESCO in 2010 as Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information, with the rank of UN Assistant Secretary-General – a position he held in Paris for eight years. .From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Falt served as Director of the Department of Public Information at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Before taking up this position, he was from 2002 to 2007 Director of Communications for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), based at its headquarters in Nairobi. Throughout the 1990s and until 2002, Mr Falt served in UN peacekeeping and humanitarian operations – successively in Cambodia, Haiti and Iraq, as well as for the United Nations Secretariat in Pakistan.

Isadora is UN Women’s Country Representative a.i. for Tunisia and Libya. She joined the office in 2022 as UN Women’s Head of Programmes. Previously, she in Jordan, where she focused on women’s economic empowerment, social cohesion, and humanitarian response. Before joining the UN system, Isadora used to work in the Brazilian government as Policy Advisor on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Isadora holds a master’s degree in Women, Peace and Security from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a bachelor’s

degree in International Relations from the University of Sao Paulo.

Mr. Marc-André Franche brings to the position over 20 years of experience in international development and conflict prevention with the United Nations. He previously headed the UN Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund, which supports more than 40 countries around the world to prevent violent conflict, avoid the resumption of conflict or encourage reconciliation. Mr. Marc- André Franche is Canadian, holds a master's degree in development policy from the London School of Economics, European studies from Lund University and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Montreal. He is married and has a son.

Maysaa Al-Ghribawy has been working for WFP since 2014, and the UN for around 24 years. Maysaa served for WFP Iraq as a Deputy Country Director, WFP Yemen as a Head of Area Office, WFP Sudan as a Head of Area Office, IOM Sudan as Deputy Chief of Mission, IOM South Sudan as Head of Programme and UN-HABITAT as Data Analyst. Maysaa is an Iraqi national and holds a master’s degree in Statistics from Baghdad University

Michele Servadei was appointed as the Representative for the Libya Country Office in April 2022. He assumed his role on July 25th, 2022. Earlier in his career, Michele worked with various NGOs and UN entities on protection, humanitarian action and programme management in countries like Somalia, Kenya, Albania, Sudan, Ethiopia, as well as throughout the Middle East. An Italian citizen, he holds a BA in International Law and Human Rights, with master’s degree in International Development and is a certified lawyer.

Polleak Ok Serei has been working for UNODC since 2010, successively at its HQ’s Justice Section, Nigeria office, Regional office for West and Central Africa, and Central African Republic office. He has been heading the UNODC Libya office since 2020. Prior to joining UNODC, he worked at the International Labour Organization’s office in Cambodia. Polleak Ok Serei holds a law degree from the Université de Paris X and a master’s degree from the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.

Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political Affairs On 16 December 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Raisedon Zenenga of Zimbabwe as Assistant Secretary-General and Mission Coordinator of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). This position is established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2542 (2020). He has served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) since 2014, and before that as Deputy Special Representative (Political) with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). He was previously a senior manager at United Nations Headquarters for 10 years, during which he supported several United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa. Mr. Zenenga graduated in public administration and political science from the University of Zimbabwe and received diplomatic training from the Australian Development Assistance Bureau. He is married and has three children.

Ms. Bikhazi leads the implementation of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, from the ILO’s office in Algiers. She joined the organisation 25 years ago and has mainly worked as an Enterprise Development Specialist at the ILO Regional Office for Arab States.During these years, Ms. Bikhazi promoted and supported enterprise development through links and close collaboration with public and private sector partners, including employers' and workers' organizations. She focused on the application of international labour standards in small and medium-sized enterprises for the creation of decent jobs. She also encouraged self-employment for all, especially women, youth, refugees and displaced persons, thus helping to promote entrepreneurship across the Middle East. Ms. Bikhazi has also been involved in entrepreneurship education and was working extensively on promoting an enterprise culture among young men and women as well as refugees and displaced persons in conflict-affected countries such as Yemen, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq.

Rania Hedeya is the Regional Representative (a.i.) and the Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer at the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States since the beginning of 2023. She is leading a regional programme, in line with the Agenda 2030 and the New Urban Agenda, prioritizing interventions in human settlements and sustainable urban development within diversified urban contexts and challenges, promoting urban recovery and resilience, climate action and localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rania has 30 years of experience in development work, starting with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where she acquired extensive knowledge and expertise in the areas of Decentralization and Local Development, with special focus on Local Economic Development, and prior to that in Strategic Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation. In 2013, she moved to UN-Habitat where she added to her development repertoire, by specializing in the field of sustainable urban development. She held the position of UN-Habitat Country Programme Director in Egypt for 10 years, supporting the government of Egypt to meet its urban development challenges and targets. During this time, she was able to position the agency as the lead entity on sustainable cities and communities (SDG11) within the UN Country Team and Donors Partners Group in Egypt. Rania also serves as a member of board in a number of urban-related bodies, ensuring alignment of urban initiatives in Egypt to the international principles and dialogues of sustainable urbanization.

Mr. Samir Anouti serves as UNFPA Country Representative for Libya since January 2022. He is a public health and international development expert with substantive experience and record of accomplishment in leading development and technical cooperation programmes, innovative partnerships, and resource mobilization. He brings over 20 years of international service with the United Nations including positions with UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO, UNAIDS, and The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Secretariat. His duty stations of service to date included: Tripoli, Cairo, Montreal, Amman, Geneva, Djibouti, and Beirut. He holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) Degree from the American University of Beirut, and is a member of several international and regional associations, including the Canadian Public Health Association, and the Association pour la Santé Publique du Québec. He is married and has two children.

Suki Nagra is currently (since September 2020) serving as head of UNSMIL’s Human Rights, Rule of Law and Transitional Justice Service, based in Tripoli, Libya and also serves as Representative of UN OHCHR to Libya. Suki was previously based in Yemen working on the UN’s largest emergency operation, as Senior Peace and Development Adviser - responsible for identifying entry points for conflict prevention and recommending strategic engagement to promote peace and advance sustainable development. As Head of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in southern Yemen, she was also responsible for convening and coordinating collective UN efforts in recovery, stabilisation, sustainable development and support for the peace process. Suki has over 25 years’ experience working in some of the UN’s most complex operations, including in Syria, where she led UNICEF’s protection pillar and served as senior adviser on humanitarian policy and advocacy; and leadership roles focused on advancing human rights and the rule of law in Afghanistan where she led work on women’s rights, children protection, and rights aspects of the peace process; in Iraq where she led a UN Fact Finding Mission on violations perpetrated by ISIL, and Sri Lanka where she supported government capacities on peacebuilding and human rights. Previously, she led a UN human rights mission tasked with investigating widespread violence and allegations of grave human rights violations in Rakhine State, Myanmar. She worked for over five years with Amnesty International, leading research and advocacy initiatives in East Asia, including on the DPRK. Her expertise includes conflict analysis and peacebuilding, humanitarian action, governance, and human rights. Suki holds an undergraduate degree in Law and International Relations, a master’s degree in International Security Studies as well as an LL.M in International Human Rights Law.

Canadian citizen, Senior Programme and Project Manager with 25 years of experience working abroad with different international organizations in 6 countries. Joined UNOPS in August 2015 at the Haiti Office. Currently based in Tunisia, covering Libya activities for the organization since October 2021 from a previous posting in Bangui, Central African Republic for 3 years. Holds 2 first degree University Diplomas in Sociology and Business Administration and a Master Degree in Management and International Commerce.

Tauhid was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Mission for IOM Libya in May 2023. He was previously with IOM's UK office where he headed up IOM UK’s programming and was acting COM between August 2021 and September 2022. There he coordinated DFID’s largest migration protection programme spanning the Central Mediterranean Route across ten countries including Libya. He was Senior Specialist in Labour Mobility and Human Development at IOM's headquarters in Geneva from 2012-18. Tauhid previously worked in IOM's Regional Office in Cairo and IOM Iraq advising on issues related to labour mobility and protection of migrants' rights. His first post in IOM was in Kabul as International Advisor within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.