Find more profiles at https://careers.un.org/meet-our-staff.

Wei Zhuang

Duty Station : THE HAGUE
Department : Office of Administration of Justice

My name is Wei ZHUANG. Currently, I work with the Geneva Registry supporting the United Nations Dispute Tribunal as a Legal Officer. The registry is part of the Office of Administration of Justice (OAJ). My main task is to provide substantive and technical support to judges in dealing with employment disputes, including on disciplinary matters, and regarding the terms of appointment of United Nations staff members.

The United Nations offers numerous development opportunities and encourages staff members to move periodically to new functions. Previously, I worked for the Chambers of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), assisting judges in adjudicating international war crimes cases. I believe that the transfer from IRMCT to OAJ will make me a more versatile lawyer by expanding the litigation subjects and procedures on which I work.

I appreciate the opportunity provided by the United Nations to contribute to a well-functioning internal justice system and the rule of law. The pursuit of fairness and equality—the prime factor that motivated me to study law—brought me to this organization.

Prior to joining the United Nations, I worked in the private sector as a lawyer representing governments in dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization (WTO) panels & its Appellate Body, at the WTO assisting dispute settlement panels in adjudicating international trade disputes, and at the Permanent Court of Arbitration assisting arbitrators in international arbitration proceedings.

Apart from practicing law, I have a strong interest in policy-oriented research in international law. This brought me to lead a five-person multidisciplinary team drafting a Green Investment Treaty with a view to helping meet the Paris Agreement targets and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2017-2018); to publish a book titled “ Intellectual Property Rights and Climate Change: Interpreting the TRIPS Agreement for Environmentally Sound Technologies” (Cambridge University Press, 2017); and to be awarded with the “Young Thinker Award” for a winning essay on renewable energy incentives in 2015.

I hold a Ph.D. in International Law from the University of Geneva, an LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement from the Graduate Institute and University of Geneva and an LL.M. in International Law from Shandong University. I was a Marie Curie Fellow with the “Dispute Settlement in Trade: Training in Law and Economics” Programme (2014-2015) and conducted research at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, the University of Cambridge (2012-2013) and the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law (2011-2013).

Juliet Kwoba-Abungu

Duty Station : ERBIL
Department : United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq

As more young women start their STEM careers, I am reminded of a quote by author John C. Maxwell: “The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda”.

As the eldest child in the family, I was expected to be a role model for my four siblings.

My dearly departed parents instilled in each of us a love for learning. Growing up, I was passionate about science and technology and, therefore, my parents encouraged me to pursue a career in STEM.

I went on to attain a Bachelor of Statistics degree from Makerere University, Uganda, in 1994. Two years later, I received my Master of Science degree in Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems from the London School of Economics & Political Science in the United Kingdom.

With my parents’ love and support, I attained the self-assurance that an education and skills in STEM would propel me to stay current and to help make a difference in the world. While working on my master’s programme, I volunteered as a mathematics teacher in one of the public primary schools in London.

By way of fortitude, I focused on my career and encouraged my siblings to aim high in their STEM and non-STEM professions. In various roles in private and non-governmental organizations, I went from a Y2K bug technical track, which included programming and systems administration, to soft skills tracks that included project, service, and business relationship management.

Then, nine years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to join the United Nations. Today, I am Information Systems Officer, leading the Service Management Unit in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. It’s my opportunity to use my skills to positively impact many people’s lives.

 

Tania Chalhoub

Duty Station : DAMASCUS
Department : United Nations Department for Safety and Security

It isn’t an exaggeration to say that my devotion to security has molded me into the diligent and ambitious person I am today. Growing up in Lebanon, I was exposed to war atrocities at a very young age. My dream was to become a military officer but unfortunately due to the war I couldn’t realize it.

Working in the security system had always been a dream. I started my United Nations (UN) experience as Security and Safety Service (SSS) security officer in 2002 in Lebanon, I later joined the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the United Nations Mission in Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). In 2011 I joined the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) as a Field Security Coordination Officer in Chad, moving later to Syria.

As Field Security Coordination Officer (FSCO) with UNDSS in Syria, I am covering the central and coastal areas of Homs, Hama, Tartus and Latakia.

Life as a Field Security Coordination Officer is full of challenges, rewards, continuous learning and the satisfaction of keeping staff safe and secure in a hostile environment. Providing and proving positive leadership to the team and the staff are daily needs and the margins for mistakes are narrow. The DSS Team in Syria is smaller in size but well-spread to eight hubs or Security Risk Management (SRM) areas. As a female FSCO deployed in the field, I relish achieving my professional goals over the years of my dedicated service towards implementing the DSS mandate in my area of responsibility.

Being a valued member of a dynamic team under sound leadership, besides the daily high-octane life, I have participated in several successful Crossline missions, into very high-risk environments, sometimes coming under fire and spending several hours under cover with the humanitarian team, waiting for the exchange of fire to stop, whilst involved in frantic negotiations with all the armed actors in the area to enable the UN teams to deliver safely and securely. You learn by heart how to negotiate access to hard-to-reach areas through negotiation, gaining the acceptance of all armed actors, local authorities and beneficiaries, to help people in dire need.

During the current pandemic, with the building-in of ‘virtuality’ in the global operating concept, our lives became more difficult which demanded additional measures of implementation to support the UN activities. Under the guidance of the team leadership, I and all other FSCOs continued supporting the missions, while accepting additional risk to ourselves, ensuring seamless enabling of programs. These are undoubtedly stressful times, and it is important for all of us to maintain a feeling of optimism and normalcy.

The National Staff in UNDSS Syria are exemplary, professional, disciplined, and productive. Their dedication and devoted service for the UNDSS, make the DSS objectives achievable in Syria.

Working with the UN is a big challenge, each operation is a new challenge, adaptation, and experience. Measuring how much risk we can take, doing field missions and travelling to other duty stations abroad, learning when to say no or yes, being kind, learning, accepting others as they are … will all become your daily life and part of your personality. Yet, despite these challenges, I am proud to be part of UNDSS.

Donglin Duanmu

Duty Station : LEB – Other cities
Department : United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

“Donglin, where do you want to work next time you are deployed abroad?” At the farewell dinner prior to the completion of my tenure in the Chinese Embassy to Romania, one of my friends popped this question. After pondering over this question for a while, I responded, “Well, three or four years later, I will be most probably given another opportunity to work abroad. One option is to work in another embassy. The other is to work for the United Nations as a military observer. Since I have experienced the diplomatic life, I would like to be a military observer.”

That was 17 years ago. Without any hesitation, I thought of serving for the United Nations as my next professional objective. I did not think too much about weighing the pros or cons, and at that time, I had no hesitation in pursuing my dream of working for the United Nations.

In 2011, I was deployed as a military staff officer in one of the United Nations largest peacekeeping missions, namely the United Nations African Union Hybrid Mission (UNAMID) in Darfur. Darfur is in the western part of Sudan, a war-torn region marked with scorching weather, dilapidated infrastructure, protracted tribal clashes and criminalities. Since I was a military officer, the tour of duty in this UN mission was limited to one year. Harsh and short as it was, that was my first taste of the United Nations.

Three years after that field experience, I had the opportunity to compete against military officers around the world for the chance to work in UN Headquarters in New York. After a long process of challenging written tests and interviews, I was finally selected and given a fixed-term contract of three years. My unit was called the Integrated Training Service, meaning work with military, police and civilian colleagues under the same roof. My daily routine work was to design, develop, and deliver peacekeeping courses around the world, to certify training courses and to interact with people of all cultures, customs, creeds, and countries.

It was then that I got to know the intricacies of working center stage in international politics and diplomacy. It was then that I had a first-hand experience of unravelling the complexities of global governance. It was then that I was engaged in day-to-day battles to confront the challenges of harmonizing divergent demands of the Member States and deconflicting political interests for the sake of the common good. It was then that I learned to advocate international standards and to promote worldwide values or beliefs.

One of the key benefits of that experience in New York was the clarification of my long-term career pursuit. Instead of taking the service for the United Nations as temporary employment, I made up my mind to dedicate myself to this profession of an international public servant as a lifelong ambition. Once again, without any hesitation, I decided to take off my uniforms and to spare no efforts in applying for civilian positions of the UN Secretariat.

To realize this career objective, the only way was to compete fairly and squarely with all applicants around the world. I enrolled myself on the UN online application platform Inspira and submitted many applications. At first, I felt disillusioned and frustrated, and I looked for tips from several veteran UN staff members. By talking with more people and researching on my own, it gradually dawned on me that the application process can be like a marathon race. Only the best of the best can achieve. Therefore, I put my mind on it and embarked on this long journey of application.

In September 2020, all my hard efforts paid off. I was lucky to be offered a civilian post in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, working as the chief of the mission’s Integrated Mission Training Centre. In January 2021, I officially started my current job. Once again, my dream of working for the United Nations was realized.