Roberto Valent

Last updated

Roberto Valent (born 8 February 1965 in Udine, Italy) is a United Nations diplomat serving as a Regional Director, UNDCO Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) providing strategic support to United Nations Resident Coordinators (RCs) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs) and fosters interaction, cross-region sharing of experience, and synergies among United Nations Resident Coordinators and UNCTs to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. [1] Previously he served as the UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Argentina. [2]

Contents

Education

Valent holds a BA and a master's degree in political sciences from Bologna University, Italy, followed by another master's degree in International Relations from Sussex University, the U.K. In addition to his native Italian he speaks English, French, and Spanish.

Career

Valent began his career with the United Nations in 1995 as a Junior Professional Officer in Albania. Between 1999 and 2001 he served as UN Municipal Administrator at UNMIK/DPKO in Kosovo. On 18 January 2000, accompanied by Dutch soldiers and UNMIK police, he entered the Suhareka Municipal Council offices of Haki Gashi under the pretence that the offices were to be commandeered for his use. The vice chairman, Ilaz Kadolli, was physically ill-treated and arrested during the raid.[ relevant? ] [3]

He moved to Comoros as Deputy Resident Representative where he served until 2002 before being assigned to Sudan from 2002-2005 where he served as Deputy Resident Representative. [4] He served 2 years as Deputy Country Director in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2005 to 2007. From 2007-2010, he was Deputy Special Representative at UNDP's Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People.

Following this, he was appointed as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in El Salvador and Belize. Shortly after his appointment, he's quoted as saying:

It's hard to say, but 71 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, is unacceptable. The Salvadoran people do not deserve it. It's a war. If an analysis is made of the period of the war in El Salvador, there are currently more deaths per year than during the years of the conflict. It is an intense war with a very complex appearance and features.
There is analysis, there are diagnoses ... an exaggeration of diagnoses on the subject of violence in El Salvador. But what must be done is to seriously address from the preventive and repressive point of view this phenomenon, because it is unacceptable the homicide rate is unacceptable. Equally unacceptable is homicide against women ... Everyone deserves respect, but women deserve more respect. [5]

In April 2015, at a conference entitled UN Agencies Addressing The Larger Issues he said:

The whole issue of poverty actually is really all these dimensions, from health, education, is really what we are here to support the state and society to work on. It's to establish policies that enable us the private sector to be competitive in a market place that is not Belizean, but its regional and its global. [6]

He was replaced in the role of UN Coordinator by UNICEF's Gordon Jonathan Lewis, whilst Stefano Pettinato, took on the UNDP role. [7] He was appointed by Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator as her Special Representative to UNDP's Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People on 27 May 2015 to replace Frode Mauring who had served in that role from February 2011. The programme has over 200 staff, mostly Palestinian, with expertise covering planning, engineering, accountancy, programme management, procurement and development. Of these 10 are UN volunteers, 74 are UNDP staff and the remainder are on service contracts. As head of the office, he represents UNDP at the most senior level in the occupied Palestinian territory with overall responsibility for operational management of activities under the Administrators guidance. [8] At that appointment he was quoted as saying:

I feel privileged by the opportunity of serving again in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip in my new capacity as UNDP Special Representative, UNDP will continue supporting the Palestinian people in fulfilling their own aspirations and improving their lives. [9]

He has written a variety of articles for “This week in Palestine” since 2015. [10] In August 2017, he represented UNDP at the inauguration of the newly revitalised Khan Al Wakaleh tourism site in Nablus. Expectations of 40,000 tourists each year, the combined socio-economic and cultural heritage project incorporating a boutique hotel and guest accommodation with shops has revitalised the area creating 1600 jobs during the refurbishment with 100 anticipated to be sustainable during the operation of the site. Speaking at the event he said:

Tourism is a lever for sustainable development. This project is a result of a fruitful partnership between the EU, UNDP and various Palestinian institutions with the aim of contributing to economic growth, boost tourism, protect cultural heritage and activate Public-Private Partnership. This project is another way of translating the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a better future and improved livelihoods. [11]

His work has been recognized internationally in development, peace building, conflict transformation and humanitarian action [12] as well as setting sustainable development [13] goals [14] and poverty re-education. [15]

Honours and awards

Related Research Articles

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes developing local capacity towards long-term self-sufficiency and prosperity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan</span> Ongoing UN peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan is a UN Special Political Mission tasked with assisting the people of Afghanistan.

A special representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representatives can carry out country visits to investigate alleged violations of human rights and act as negotiators on behalf of the United Nations.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), previously the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), is a consortium of 36 United Nations funds, programmes, specialized agencies, departments and offices that play a role in development. It was created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in order to improve the effectiveness of United Nations development activities at the country level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq</span>

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) was formed on 14 August 2003 by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1500 at the request of the Iraqi government to support national development efforts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Doss</span> British international civil servant

Alan Claude Doss is a British international civil servant who has spent his entire professional life in the service of the United Nations, working on peacekeeping, development and humanitarian assignments in Africa, Asia and Europe as well as at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Mountain</span>

Ross Stewart Mountain has spent most of his career in the service of the United Nations working on humanitarian, recovery, development and peacekeeping operations in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the Pacific as well as assignments based in Geneva, Switzerland promoting non-governmental action and managing UN humanitarian operations.

Georg Charpentier currently serves as United Nations Deputy Special Representative and Resident Coordinator in Libya. He was appointed to this position by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 19 September 2011. Previously, he was the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire. In this capacity, he is responsible for Humanitarian Coordination, Recovery and Reconstruction, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Côte d'Ivoire and Humanitarian Coordinator.

Bo Schack is a Danish lawyer. On 5 January 2010 he was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General in the Central African Republic. This appointment is in addition to the nominations in October 2009 as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, as well as UNDP Resident Representative in the country. Since 1985 he has been working for United Nations primarily in the humanitarian field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Üner Kırdar</span>

Üner Kirdar is a noted author on international development issues, retired Turkish diplomat and senior United Nations official. He is one of the early pioneers of Human development theory and, since the mid-1980s, has advocated and worked for the concept’s worldwide adoption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sukehiro Hasegawa</span>

Sukehiro Hasegawa is a Japanese academic, educator, author and administrator. He served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Timor-Leste and head of peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions, UNMISET, UNOTIL and UNMIT from May 2004 to September 2006. He is currently the President of the Global Peacebuidling Association of Japan, the ACUNS Liaison Officer in Tokyo, the Chair of the Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center (HPC) Council and the Personal Advisor to former president and Prime Minister José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippe Lazzarini</span> UN official (born 1964)

Philippe Lazzarini is a national of Switzerland and Italy who has been serving as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurélien Agbénonci</span> Beninese diplomat

Aurélien Agbénonci is a Beninese diplomat who served in the government of Benin as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2023. Previously he was Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

Edouard Adrien André Wattez is a French United Nations diplomat who worked for the United Nations for more than 32 years in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East Regions in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) agency, leading assignments mainly in crisis, peace building, post-war and transition countries such as Senegal, the Fiji Islands, Rwanda, Jerusalem, Cambodia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

Susan McDade is a Canadian economist and energy expert. She is currently the Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Management Services at the United Nations Development Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Noudéhou</span> Beninese diplomat

Alain Noudéhou is a Beninese diplomat who has been serving as Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and Resident Coordinator in Mali since 2021, serving alongside Special Representative Mahamat Saleh Annadif. He was previously the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Resident Coordinator, and Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan.

Alexander Nikolaevich Avanesov is a Soviet and Russian diplomat, the United Nations Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic (2011-2017) and in Montenegro (2008-2011), Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Armenia (2004-2008). From 1984 to 1994 he worked in the Department of International Economic Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR/the Russian Federation, in the Permanent Mission of the USSR to the United Nations (1986) and then of the Russian Federation (1994). From 1994 he started working for the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shombi Sharp</span> American diplomat

Shombi Sharp is an American diplomat with the United Nations, UN Resident Coordinator in India․

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestine–Poland relations</span> Bilateral relations

Official relations between Poland and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) date back to the 1970s, when a PLO representative office was opened in 1976.

Sustainable Development Goals and Lebanon explains major contributions launched in Lebanon towards the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs and the 2030 agenda.

References

  1. ↑ "Roberto Valent".
  2. ↑ "Roberto Valent".
  3. ↑ "Report 481 on the situation of the human rights and freedoms in Kosova from January 16 until January 23, 2000". COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "Roberto Valent". This Week in Palestine. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. ↑ "Cifra de homicidios es inaceptable, dice R.Valent". ContraPunto. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  6. ↑ "UN Agencies Addressing The Larger Issues". 7News Belize. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  7. ↑ "Da El Salvador a Gerusalemme, Roberto Valent di UNDP". Onuitalia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  8. ↑ "UNDP in the occupied Palestinian territory". The UNDP Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "New UNDP Special Representative arrives at the occupied Palestinian territory". UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People.
  10. ↑ "Roberto Valent". This Week in Palestine. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  11. ↑ "The European Union and UNDP Inaugurate the Newly Revitalized Khan Al Wakaleh Tourism Site in Nablus". The Office of the European Union Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA). Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "Diario Oficial" (PDF). Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Resilient and Sustainable Development". This Week in Palestine. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  14. ↑ "Roberto Valent, UNDP Representative, on the Sustainable Development Goals in the State of Palestine". YouTube. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  15. ↑ "UN Agencies Addressing The Larger Issues". 7News Belize. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "UN Social 500". Rise.Global. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.