Jood Wasel Alharthi is not only one of the very few Saudi’s in United Nations HQ based in New York, where Saudi’s working as UN staff full-time can be counted on both hands, but, she is also exceptionally the only Saudi currently in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.
Jood works in the Executive Office of the Secretary General as a Political Affairs. The work involves different thematic areas that support peace, justice and building strong institutions. These topics vary from climate and environmental justice, women and youth empowerment, conflict prevention, responding to emerging threats (e.g. Misinformation and disinformation) and more. Due to where the office sits, the work is overarching across the United Nations three-pillars and across the international community system. Moreover, it’s focused on implementing high-level strategic plans, supporting the senior leadership decision making, coordinating and communicating with different teams across UN mandates to ensure coherence in delivery and effectively breaking the silos.
Dr. Habiba Sayeed Alsafar discovered genes linked to type 2 diabetes unique to the country's Bedouin population.https://t.co/h9Ta7odlAU
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) January 15, 2023
Jood joined the Executive Office of the Secretary General, after spending three years in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA). She was most recently in the Policy and Mediation Division and prior to that in the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund working on Central Asia, South Asia and Europe. Her time in DPPA was spent working on global issues that focus on conflict prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace. Jood supported policies, analysis and projects that served countries in conflict on many fronts like reconciliation, managing intercommunal conflict, social cohesion and promoting inclusivity. Jood’s time in DPPA provided exceptional insights on what it entails to build a resilient society, people-centered solutions and the strategic role that the international community, and even individuals have, in facing the multiple and interlinked global challenges to peace and security.
Saudi scholar Dr. Ghadah Alharthi is also a lecturer at Central Saint Martins.https://t.co/wgi59OpIAx
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) February 4, 2021
Overall, Jood’s experience oriented around Rule of Law, International Law and Post-Conflict Alternative Dispute Resolution. Jood is a lawyer by training and before joining the UN she was based in the United Kingdom working in top tier international law firms based at their corporate departments in London and Dubai.
Between 2017 and 2019, Jood has supported a team with Lawyers Without Borders to develop storybooks for children in Tanzania to raise their awareness of Human Trafficking. She’s also gained criminal law experience at the California Central District Federal Court in 2014.
