UNICEF New Representative in Georgia Hands over Credentials to the Foreign Ministry
16 October 2018
Newly appointed Representative of UNICEF in Georgia Dr. Ghassan Khalil presented his letter of accreditation to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Ms. Khatuna Totladze.
Caption: Newly appointed Representative of UNICEF in Georgia Dr. Ghassan Khalil presents his letter of accreditation to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Ms. Khatuna Totladze
“It is a great privilege for me to be in Georgia. I am very enthusiastic about my new position and I am looking forward to working closely with the Georgian government for improving wellbeing of children and families in Georgia”, said Dr. Ghassan Khalil.
Dr. Khalil expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the fruitful cooperation with UNICEF over the past 25 years and on its considerable efforts for the protection of children’s rights in Georgia. UNICEF Representative underlined that there had been a considerable progress for children in Georgia over the last decades. There are many children however who still need our support.
“We will continue to work with the Government of Georgia to address the needs and to protect the rights of these vulnerable children and their families. We need to create stronger systems and policies so that children have full access to services,” added Dr. Khalil.
Before moving to Georgia Dr. Khalil, a national of Lebanon, served as the Senior Advisor to UNICEF Regional Office for Middle East and North Africa. Before this position, he was the UNICEF Special Representative in Libya. He brings more than twenty-five years of significant professional experience in various capacities, which include senior positions with governments, NGO’s, the United Nations and as an independent senior consultant, university professor, researcher and training expert.
Dr. Khalil’s work has been focused on promoting human rights, women and children’s rights, social policy, legal reform, cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, with extensive experience in strategic management and rights-based approach to programming, in both development and emergency settings.
Dr. Khalil holds a Maitrise in Law from the Lebanese University, a Master degree in International Business Law from Paris-Sorbonne University and a Doctorate Degree in International Law from Paris Sorbonne Descartes (Paris-V) University.
