UN
United Nations Peacekeeping|
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Bintou Keita (Guinea) Secretary-General has appointed Ms. Bintou Keita of Guinea as Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Ms. Keita succeeds Ms. Leila Zerrougui of Algeria, who will complete her assignment next month. The Secretary-General is deeply grateful to Ms. Zerrougui for her important contribution and service to MONUSCO. Ms. Keita brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in peace, security, development, humanitarian, and human rights, working in conflict and post-conflict environments. Since January 2019 she has been serving as the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations and had served as the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from November 2017 to December 2018. Between 2015 to 2017, Ms. Keita served the United Nations as Deputy Joint Special Representative for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). She had previously led United Nations efforts to fight the Ebola Virus Disease as the Ebola Crisis Manager for Sierra Leone between February and November 2015. From 2007 to 2010, she also served as Deputy Executive Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi. Ms. Keita joined the United Nations in 1989, additionally serving in several senior management and leadership functions with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Chad, the Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Burundi and at Headquarters. Ms. Keita holds a master’s degree in social economy from the University of Paris II, France, and a post- graduate degree in business administration and management from the University of Paris IX, France. |
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Vivian van de Perre (Netherlands) United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Vivian van de Perre of the Netherlands as his Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Ms. van de Perre succeeds Mr. Khassim Diagne of Senegal, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service to MONUSCO. Ms. van de Perre brings to the position over 30 years of United Nations experience, both in the field and at Headquarters. She currently serves as the Deputy Head of Mission in the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement in Yemen. She previously held the positions of Chief of Staff for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (2018-2022), Chief of Staff for MONUSCO (2017), and Head of Office for the Special Envoy for Burundi (2016). Ms. van de Perre served in several positions at United Nations Headquarters, including as Director of the Field Operations Finance Division in the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, Executive Officer for the Department of Political Affairs, Principal Officer in the Secretary-General’s Change Implementation Team, Chief of Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, Chief of Administration and Communication for the Capital Master Plan, Special Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security and as Chief of a budget unit in the United Nations Controller’s Office. From 1985 to 1998, she was in the Royal Dutch Army. While serving in the Royal Dutch Army, she was seconded as a military officer in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (1994-1997). Ms. van de Perre holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in the United States and an undergraduate degree from the Dutch Royal Military Academy. In addition to her native Dutch, she speaks English, French, German and Spanish. |
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Bruno Lemarquis (France) Mr. Bruno Lemarquis is the Deputy Special Representative to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Resident Coordinator and Coordinator of Humanitarian Operations in the DRC. Respectively, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Resident Coordinator and Coordinator of Humanitarian Operations in the country since 2020, Mr. Lemarquis brings with him extensive management and leadership experience in complex multidimensional situations, development, humanitarian affairs and peacekeeping. From 2014 to 2019, he was Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director of the Crisis Management Unit, then known as the Crisis Bureau/Global Policy Network to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). From 2009 to 2014, he assumed several positions in the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, accumulating experience in the field, including in Somalia, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Cambodia. Prior to joining the United Nations in 1992, Mr. Lemarquis worked for an international NGO in Haiti and Ethiopia. He holds an Engineering degree in tropical Agriculture from the “Centre National d’Etudes des Regions Chaudes de Montpellier”. He is fluent in English and French. |
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Lieutenant-Général Ulisses de Mesquita Gomes (Brazil) Force Commander Lieutenant-General Ulisses de Mesquita Gomes has been MONUSCO's Force Commander since February 2025. Prior to his appointment as Force Commander, he was Deputy Chief of Logistics Operations Command (2023-2024), after serving as Military Attaché to Brazil's Diplomatic Mission in the United States of America (2021-2023). His international experience also includes a deployment as Head of Policy and Doctrine and Head of Current Military Operations, Office of Military Affairs, Department of Peace Operations/UNHQ (2017-2019). Prior to this, he served as Planning Officer for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH, 2008 to 2009). Lieutenant-General Ulisses de Mesquita Gomes' military experience includes Chief of Planning, Operations and Intelligence for the 11th Light Infantry Brigade, Defense Advisor to the Minister of Strategic Affairs of the Brazilian government, Commander of the 19th Fighter Battalion, Chief of Assignments for NCO Personnel Section, Chief of Public Relations Division, Chief of Media Relations Division of the Army's Social Communications Center, and Spokesman for the Commander of the Brazilian Army. Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Lieutenant-General Ulisses de Mesquita Gomes joined the army in 1986 at the Agulhas Negras Military Academy (AMAN), graduating in December 1989. He holds three Master's degrees, notably in Military Operations from the Advanced Military Officers School, in Military Science and in Law from the Brazilian Army Staff School. Lieutenant-General Ulisses de Mesquita Gomes is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. |
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Yulia Kim (Russia) Colonel Yulia Kim, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, has been the Acting Head of the Police Component (UNPOL) at MONUSCO since December 23, 2024. Colonel Kim was seconded to MONUSCO in December 2021 as the Coordinator for Police Reform and Restructuring and Head of the Development Team. Her role is to strengthen the capacities of the Congolese National Police and to identify its needs for reform, planning, and training. Previously, from 2019 to 2020, Colonel Kim worked as an Individual Police Officer (IPO) at MONUSCO, in the Lubumbashi sector and at the Kinshasa headquarters, as a planning officer. Before joining MONUSCO, from 2015 to 2016, Colonel Kim worked as an Individual Police Officer in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), where she was involved in the Haitian National Police's General Inspectorate as the Head of the Unit for Donor Liaison and Resource Mobilization Coordination in Port-au-Prince. She has national experience in criminal investigations since 1994. |
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Soraya ADOUANE (France) Soraya Adouane has been the Chief of Staff to the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of Congo since April 2024. With 29 years of experience within the United Nations system, Ms. Adouane has worked with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Food Programme (WFP), and various UN peacekeeping missions in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Within MONUSCO, Ms. Adouane previously served as Deputy Director of the Political Affairs Division. She has also held positions such as Head of the Civil Affairs Division at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), Chief of Staff at the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in Guinea, and Deputy Head of Office at the OCHA office in Mali. Ms. Adouane holds a master’s degree in social sciences (Sociology and Anthropology) from Paris-V University. She has received recognition for her extended services to the United Nations. |
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Nathan Opoku Kofi Danquah (Ghana) Nathan Opoku Kofi Danquah has been serving as the Senior Security Advisor for the United Nations Department of Safety and Security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since April 1, 2023. Mr. Danquah began his career in 1983 as an officer cadet at the Ghana Military Academy and served with distinction until his honorable retirement as a Major in October 1999. A graduate of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, he participated in multiple peacekeeping operations, including the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 1988 and 1992, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) from 1993 to 1994, the ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia in 1990 and again from 1997 to 1998, and the ECOMOG Headquarters in Sierra Leone from 1998 to 1999. Mr. Danquah’s professional experience also includes five years as an investigator and team leader at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR). He then served as a UN Security Advisor for three years in Cameroon and undertook temporary assignments in Banda Aceh, Indonesia; Pakistan; and the Central African Republic. From 2007 to 2023, he held senior security advisory positions in various duty stations, including Nigeria, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Sudan, Syria, and Chad. Mr. Danquah holds a master’s degree in international politics and diplomacy from Staffordshire University in Stoke-on-Trent, England, a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, and a bachelor’s degree in politics and international Relations from the University of London. |
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Mame Ely Dieng (Sénégal) Since July 2024, Mame Ely Dieng has been the Coordinator of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions Division (ROLSID) at MONUSCO. His responsibilities encompass the Justice Section, the Correctional Support Unit, and the Security Sector Reform (SSR) Section, where he previously served as the Principal Officer. Before joining MONUSCO in January 2024, Mr. Dieng was a senior expert and advisor with the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Crisis Bureau, specializing in SSR, Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR). He also worked with the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region (OSESG-GL) as Coordinator of the Operational Cell of the Contact and Coordination Group (CCG), based in Goma, as part of a regional security cooperation program involving five countries. From 2018 to 2021, Mr. Dieng held roles as Principal SSR Officer and Acting Chief of Office with the Office of the Special Envoy for Burundi. He previously served as Chief of SSR for MONUSCO (2017-2018) and with the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (2012-2017). Earlier in his career, he worked with UNDP on post-crisis reconstruction initiatives in several countries and with the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) in New York on SSR matters. He also worked at the World Bank, focusing on conflict prevention, reconstruction, and social development. A Senegalese national, Mr. Dieng holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) and a master’s degree in international relations and international public policy from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. |
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Khaled Ahmed Heshmat Mous Ibrahim (Canada) Khaled Ahmed Heshmat Mous Ibrahim is the Director and Policy and Program Advisor. He has many years of experience within the United Nations and other national and international organizations in conflict-affected states. He has worked in several African countries, including Sudan, South Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His experience also extends to Haiti, Libya, and Yemen. During his UN career as a program manager, Mr. Ibrahim has achieved remarkable results in negotiating sensitive security agreements and complex Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) and Community Violence Reduction (CVR) programs with multiple stakeholders at the national, regional, and international levels. Mr. Ibrahim has also gained diverse experience in the field of policy and program evaluation, where he has conducted evaluations on various thematic issues related to peacebuilding at the international level, including international humanitarian aid, DDR and CVR, the resettlement of returnees, international support for human trafficking victims, formalizing and establishing a responsible artisanal mining sector in the DRC, and securing access and land rights in eastern DRC. Mr. Ibrahim holds a master’s degree in economics and development finance from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Policy and Program Evaluation from Carleton University, Canada. |
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Ghandi Shukry Kataw (Jordanie) Ghandi Shukry Kataw has been serving as the Chief of the Conduct and Discipline Team at MONUSCO since January 2024. Mr. Kataw began his career in the Jordanian Police, where he reached the rank of Captain before taking on a prominent role as an investigator at the War Crimes Tribunal, where he served for eight years from 1996 to 2004. His dedication to justice and humanitarian work led him to join the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where he contributed to operations in Iraq and Burundi for a year and a half. In 2006, Mr. Kataw took on the role of Chief Investigator at the Office of Internal Oversight Services in Sudan. He then went on to lead conduct and discipline teams in several peacekeeping missions, including the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Mr. Kataw holds an Advanced Diploma in Military Sciences and a Bachelor of Laws. |
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Riccardo Maia (Italy) Riccardo Maia has been the Director of the Integrated Office at MONUSCO since December 2023. A lawyer by training, he has over thirty years of professional experience, including two decades with the European Union and the United Nations. Before being appointed to head the Integrated Office, Mr. Maia served as Head of Office in Timbuktu with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), Head of Office and UN Coordinator for Rakhine State (Myanmar), and Senior Legal Advisor to MONUSCO. He has also held senior positions within the European Union, including as an advisor to the Minister of Finance of Moldova, an advisor to the Minister of Justice of Kosovo, and Senior Constitutional Law Advisor to the Special Representative of the European Union (EUSR) in Kosovo. Throughout his professional career, Mr. Maia has been a barrister, a lecturer in Constitutional Law at the University of Milan, and an honorary judge at the High Court of the same city. He holds a master’s degree in law from the Catholic University of Milan and a PhD in Constitutional Law. |
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Ngum Fru Marilyn Epse Tayim (Cameroun) Marilyn Ngum Fru serves as the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Protection and Operations. She is based in Goma. Before assuming this role, she held several other positions within MONUSCO in various locations, including Mbuji Mayi and Kinshasa. These roles included Senior Political Affairs Officer, Joint Operations Officer, and Electoral Officer. From 2018 onward, Ms. Ngum Fru worked with the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) in Libreville, Gabon, as Senior Political Affairs Advisor and Deputy Chief of the Political Affairs Section. She also served as Acting Chief of Staff for UNOCA in 2023. Between 2014 and 2017, she worked with, holding key roles such as Deputy Head of the Joint Mission Analysis Cell (JMAC), Head of the Joint Operations Center (JOC), and Chief of Office. With over 20 years of experience in international diplomacy, conflict management, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, political analysis, and office management, Ms. Ngum Fru brings exceptional expertise to her work. She holds a master’s degree in international relations from the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC) and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication. |
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Josiah Obat (Kenya) Josiah Obat serves as the Head of the MONUSCO Office in Ituri. Since joining the United Nations in 2006, he has held positions as Political Affairs Specialist and Senior Political Advisor. He has also served as Chief of Office in various UN missions in Africa, including MONUC in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2006–2009), UNAMID in Darfur, Sudan (2009–2010), MINURSO in Western Sahara (2010–2012), and MONUSCO in the DRC (2012 to date). Before his UN career, Mr. Obat worked as a journalist from 1989 to 2006 at the Eastern and Central Africa Information Center in Nairobi. During this time, he collaborated with prominent international media organizations, including Voice of America, German broadcasters ARD and Deutsche Welle, and Radio Blue Danube in Austria. A native of Kenya, Mr. Obat holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and German Language from the University of Nairobi and a Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication. He is fluent in English, French, German, Swahili, Lingala, and Luo, his native language. |
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Sakuya Oka (USA) Sakuya Oka has been the Director of the Strategic Communications and Public Information Division, which includes Radio Okapi, since March 2023. Before joining MONUSCO, Ms. Oka was responsible for communications at the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville. In this role, she led strategic communications for health emergencies in Africa, including the Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Oka forged key partnerships to strengthen WHO’s response, including the launch of an infodemic management unit to combat vaccine misinformation and other health-related challenges across the continent. Previously, Ms. Oka served as the regional communication advisor for UNAIDS in Bangkok and launched the organization’s multimedia unit in Geneva. Before her United Nations career, she was an award-winning television producer for major broadcasters in the United States, including ABC News and NBC News, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), and AFP’s video unit. Ms. Oka holds a Master of Public Health from the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States. The team she led at WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic received the WHO Director-General's Excellence Award in 2021. She has also been nominated for several Emmy Awards for her reports on Dateline, NBC News as well as the homeless in Japan for ABC News. |
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Karna Soro (Côte d’Ivoire) Karna Soro has served as the Senior Liaison Officer in the Office of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Protection and Operations since August 2024. He is based in Kinshasa. Prior to assuming this position, he led MONUSCO's field offices in Bukavu, Beni, and Bunia from 2016 to 2024. Before joining MONUSCO in 2016, Mr. Soro held various operational and strategic roles with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA). Mr. Soro also served in senior positions within the Office of the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire between 2011 and 2016, addressing issues of national security, the rule of law, and disarmament. Prior to his international career, he worked as a socio-anthropologist researcher with the African Institute for Economic and Social Development (INADES) in Abidjan. Mr. Soro is a socio-anthropologist by training and a specialist in matters related to socialization within armed groups as well as the sociology of military institutions. |
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Amadu Fuseini Timbilla (Ghana) Amadu Fuseini Timbilla is the Chief of Service Delivery Management in the Mission Support Division. Previously, he led units in various areas including Material and Inventory Control, Reception and Inspection, Inventory Management, Asset Management, Payroll Management, Operational Process Management, Supply Chain Management, and Facilities Management at the Entebbe Support Base. Mr. Timbilla served as a commissioned officer in the Ghana Armed Forces for over 17 years, holding various positions such as Platoon Commander, Combat Team Commander, Logistics Officer, Weapons and Ammunition Officer/Inspector, Chief Logistics Officer, Supply Officer, and Deputy Director of Artillery Services. He was also a lecturer in military subjects. During his military career, he participated in numerous peacekeeping operations, including the Economic Community of West African States Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), and the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). As a UN civilian staff member, Mr. Timbilla has held various positions over 17 years with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the Entebbe Support Base in Uganda, and the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC and MONUSCO). Mr. Timbilla is an expert trainer in local processes (IPSAS) and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM). |
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Altiné Traoré (Mali) Altiné Traoré has been serving as the Deputy Director of the Political Affairs Division in Kinshasa since December 2024. She has extensive experience in political analysis and diplomatic efforts in the Great Lakes region and across Africa. At MONUSCO, she previously led the Regional and Provincial Affairs Section (RPS) within the division in Kinshasa. Prior to that, Mrs. Traoré was Head of the Political Affairs Section in Beni. Before joining MONUSCO, Ms. Traoré worked for 10 years in Guinea-Bissau with the African Union and its office for the Great Lakes region in Burundi. |
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Patrice Vahard (Côte d'Ivoire) Patrice Vahard has been the Director of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) since March 2023. He has over thirty years of international experience both within and apart from the United Nations. Before being appointed to head the UNJHRO, Mr Vahard served as the Representative of the High Commissioner and Head of Country Offices in Guinea and Burundi. He has also held key positions within the United Nations, including with the United Nations Political Mission for West Africa and the Sahel in Senegal, the Regional Office for Human Rights, where he acted as liaison with the African Union Commission and states in East and the Horn of Africa in Ethiopia, and in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). Prior to joining the UN, Mr. Vahard spent a decade as the Africa Director for one of the largest international human rights organizations. Mr. Vahard is a lawyer and sociologist. He holds two PhDs, one in International Law (specializing in the right to development) and the other in Sociology of Governance and Conflict Transformation Institutions. Through his conferences, writings, and advocacy, Mr Vahard is internationally recognized for his contributions in conflict prevention and transformation, the right to development, and human rights diplomacy, with a focus on transitional justice, the fight against impunity, gender equality, and the rights of women, children, people living with disabilities or albinism, and ethnic minorities. |
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Nicoleta Verestiuc (Roumanie) Nicoleta Verestiuc assumed the position of Acting Mission Support Director (DMS a.i.) in November 2024. She joined MONUSCO in December 2022 as the Chief of Operations and Resource Management and continues to hold this role in addition to her temporary responsibilities as the Acting DMS. Before joining MONUSCO, Ms. Verestiuc worked at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), where she served as the Chief of Mission Support for four years. Ms. Verestiuc has over 25 years of experience with the UN, both in field missions and at UN Headquarters in New York, in various mission support areas. She has participated in eight other missions, including MONUC, the predecessor to MONUSCO in the DRC. She brings to the Mission a wealth of experience and a broad knowledge base that she is leveraging to support the best interests of MONUSCO and its staff. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Cambridge International College (UK) and a PhD in Ecological Psychology from the Viridis Graduate Institute in California (USA). |
MONUSCO
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo
