ReachMD

Karen Koning AbuZayd has been a Commissioner-General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East since June 2005, when she was appointed to this post by then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. As UNRWA's Deputy Commissioner-General, Ms. AbuZayd has played a key role in the Agency's response to the humanitarian emergency caused by the conflict in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since late 2000. She has also served as a guiding force in the evolution of the Agency's relationship with donors and other stakeholders. Before joining UNRWA, Ms. AbuZayd, an American national, worked for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for 19 years. In that time, she worked on emergencies across Africa, served as UNHCR's chief of mission in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war, and was Chef de Cabinet to High Commissioner Sadako Ogata and a regional representative for the United States and the Caribbean. Previous to her work at the UN, Ms. AbuZayd lectured in political science and Islamic studies at Makerere University in Uganda, and at Juba University in Southern Sudan.