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Karen AbuZayd

Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants

Karen Koning AbuZayd (M.A. in Islamic Studies from McGill University) is the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. The summit will be held at the General Assembly on 19 September 2016.

Recently Karen has served as a pro bono Commissioner on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, mandated by the 47 member UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She retired from the UN in 2010 as Under Secretary General and Commissioner-General of UNRWA, based in Gaza since August 2000.

From 1981-2000, she worked in various capacities for UNHCR in Sudan, Namibia, Sierra Leone (Chief of Mission), Bosnia (Chief of Mission), Geneva (Chef de Cabinet) and Washington (Regional Representative).

Prior to her UN career, she taught Middle East Politics at Makerere University, Uganda, and Juba University, southern Sudan.

She has served on several refugee and humanitarian boards, among them UNRWA USA (Washington, D.C.), Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (Ramallah/Chicago), The Middle East Policy Council (Washington) and she is Chair of the Board of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (Geneva).

In October 2015, she was named the 2015 Chicago Woman Extraordinaire by International Women Associates in Chicago.

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