Dr. Rima Salah
Rima Salah is a Women for Women International’s International Board member
Dr. Salah is currently a member of the Secretary-General High-Level Panel on Peace Operations. She is the former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, as well as the former Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT). She was Officer in Charge for the Deputy Executive Director for External Relations in UNICEF from August 2011 to January 2012. In this function, she was responsible for the following areas globally: Communications, Emergency Programmes, Governance, U.N. and Multilateral Affairs, Public Alliances and Resource Mobilization, and Private Fundraising and Partnerships.
Dr. Salah has had a distinguished career with UNICEF. She was appointed Deputy Executive Director from 2004 to 2007, after joining the organization in 1987 as Project Officer for Social Mobilization in Quetta, Pakistan. In 1989, she was promoted to the position of Resident Project Officer, and in 1992, Ms. Salah began a four year assignment as UNICEF Representative in Burkina Faso. She was then appointed as UNICEF Representative in Vietnam in 1995. In 1999, she was promoted to Regional Director for West and Central Africa Office.
A great and effective advocate for the right of children and women in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. She contributed to Security Council (SC) Resolution 1612 on child rights violations and Security Council (SC) resolution 1325 Women, Peace, and Security. Dr. Salah has received many awards of distinction from several non-governmental organization (NGO'S) and UN Member States, including the French Legion of Honour.
Dr. Salah is a national of Jordan and is fluent in Arabic, English, and French. She holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from SUNY-Binghamton, Master’s degrees in Education & Sociology and Cultural Anthropology from SUNY-Fredonia, and an undergraduate degree in Sociology & Social Work from Beirut College for Women-Lebanon. Dr. Salah is currently a faculty member at Yale University Child Study Center.