Rima Salah, PhD

Dr. Rima Salah, a national of Jordan, is a faculty member at the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine and holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology (SUNY-Binghamton). She is also a Member of the United Nations High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations.

A former Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, U.N. Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), Dr. Salah has had a distinguished career with UNICEF. She was the Deputy Executive Director for External Relations in UNICEF (2011-12) and Deputy Executive Director (2004-07). She was also the UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa (1999-2004) and in this capacity was responsible for all UNICEF operations in that region. Dr. Salah also served as UNICEF representative in a number of countries including Vietnam, Burkina Faso as well head of office in Queta, Pakistan.

As a highly effective advocate for the rights 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 and U.N. Member States, including the French Legion of Honor.