Rochdi has more than 20 years of experience in development, humanitarian assistance, and conflict management or resolution.
Rabat – With two decades of experience in a wide range of topics in international diplomacy, Morocco’s Najat Rochdi appears to have secured a solid reputation in the UN system.
In 2020, the UN Secretary-General appointed 20 women to senior management positions. Nine of them were appointed to positions in political or peacekeeping missions. Of these 20 women, nine are from Africa, seven from the Americas and the Caribbean, three from Europe, and one from Asia.
Among them is Morocco’s Najat Rochdi, appointed as UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) and UN Lebanon Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
Najat Rochdi has more than 20 years of experience in development and humanitarian assistance as well as international coordination in conflict and post-conflict areas. Prior to this appointment, she served as senior advisor to the UN special envoy for Syria and as Director of Peer to Peer at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva.
Previously, Rochdi served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). She was also the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Cameroon and Deputy Director of the Representative Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Geneva.
Before launching her international career, Najat Rochdi held several Moroccan government positions. She notably served as adviser to the prime minister, deputy minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, and director-general of International Cooperation and Development in the Ministry of Post and Information Technology.
Najat Rochdi holds a PhD in information systems from the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (INSEA) in Rabat and a Master’s degree in mathematics and fundamental applications from the University of Paris Sud 11.
According to a study published by New York University’s Center for International Cooperation, the appointment of women to senior leadership positions markedly increased between 1995 and 2020. While women made up 19% of senior U.N. appointments in 1995, they made up 62% of these high-level appointments in 2020.
Women from Western Europe and North America made up 48% of the appointments in 1995, and by 2020 they made up more than 38% of the senior positions. Women from Africa made up 42% of the senior appointments in 2020, compared to the 23% of high-rank roles they occupied in 1995.
