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.

Christopher has over 23 years of project/programme management experience (with about 18 years of experience in development programme/project management specifically in conflict and post-conflict contexts/settings first in Northern Uganda (2004 – 2008) during the LRA insurgency, Somalia/Kenya (2008 – 2010), Darfur/Sudan (2011 – 2021) managing donor funded projects in humanitarian response programming, early recovery, rule of law/governance, livelihoods, reconstruction and development interventions through decentralized frameworks, and Libya since September 2021.

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.

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.

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.

Mr. Gilabert is a development economist with over 30 years of experience managing industrial and private sector development portfolios across Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan countries. Patrick joins the UNIDO regional office in Cairo as Regional Representative having previously served in UNIDO's office in Brussels as Deputy to the Director.

Before his appointment in Brussels, Patrick was UNIDO Deputy Representative to the United Nations in New York (2016-2018), Representative and head of the UNIDO country offices in Hanoi, Vietnam (2011-2016) and in Antananarivo, Madagascar (2007-2010) with coverage of the Union of Comoros, Seychelles, and Mauritius. Patrick Gilabert started his career with UNIDO in Vietnam in 1993, followed by Headquarters in Vienna (1996-2006). Previously, he worked for the smart cards company Gemplus Electronics in France, and the French Embassy (Trade Commission) in Japan and Sri Lanka.

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.

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.

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.

Mr. ELGUINDI, a Canadian citizen with an Egyptian origin, coming with over three decades of experience in leading humanitarian and development work in large and complex operations in different countries.

In addition to working in WFP-HQs and MENA Regional Office, he served in numerous duty stations including, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Liberia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Djibouti, Jordan, Timor Leste, along with other short-term assignments in Southern and Eastern Africa.

Beside WFP, Mr. ELGUINDI has worked with UN-DTCD, WHO, FAO, UNHCR, UN-OCHA, UNRWA, DRC, and NRC.

He is fluent in Arabic and English.

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.