PROGRAM
The James G. McDonald Distinguished Lecture on Humanitarian Intervention, co-sponsored by The Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College.
Special Envoy for Syria, Ambassador Staffan de Mistura has more than three decades of experience with the United Nations in conflict-affected areas including Somalia, the Middle East, the Balkans, Nepal and Afghanistan. His previous posts include the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Deputy Executive Director for External Relations from 2007 to 2009, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). Mr. de Mistura has also served as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq from March through August 1997as well as Director of Public Affairs at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNICEF Representative in Somalia. In addition, he was given special humanitarian assignments in Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Viet Nam and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
In 1999, Mr. de Mistura became a member of the Security Council Panel on Humanitarian Issues in Iraq, and from April to June of the same year, he was the Special Adviser to the High Commissioner for Refugees on the Kosovo crisis before he was appointed Regional Administrator for Mitrovica in Kosovo. In June 2000, he was Special Rapporteur during the Fribourg Forum on Regional Cooperation and Coordination in Crisis Management for Europe and the Newly Independent States.
