Meet the Team

 

 

 Regional Representative

 

 

Marco Teixeira, Regional Representative, South Asia

Mr. Marco Teixeira, a national of Portugal, is the Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Regional Office for South Asia (UNODC ROSA). Within UNODC, Mr. Teixeira has led programme development and implementation, partnership building and resource mobilization efforts in various positions. 

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Deputy Representative

 

 

Suruchi Pant, Deputy Representative, South Asia

Dr Suruchi Pant is the Deputy Representative of UNODC Regional Office for South Asia. She is responsible for the overall management and programmatic oversight of all technical cooperation projects/programmes/initiatives at UNODC ROSA. Over the last several years, she has managed various projects and initiatives on drugs and health, organized crime, corruption and criminal justice and her focus is to identify and develop new programmes, raise funds and advocate for the implementation of the Regional Programme for South Asia in close cooperation with UNODC partners in the South Asia region. She works with Governments, funding partners, UN and civil society to explore new partnerships for programming in UNODC mandated areas of drugs, crime, terrorism, criminal justice and corruption.

 

Team 

 

 

Deepika Naruka, Programme Coordinator for Countering Transnational Organised Crime and Trafficking, South Asia

Deepika is the Programme Coordinator for countering transnational organized crime (TOC) and trafficking.  She has extensive experience on human security, gender and development, having worked in Croatia, Geneva, Vienna, Bangkok and India.  With UNODC Deepika has worked in South Asia, East Asia & Pacific, and at the headquarters in Vienna, on programmes related to countering trafficking in persons, Afghan opiate trade, drug and narcotics control, anti-money laundering and countering wildlife crime and trafficking.  She also brings experience of having worked with other UN agencies and organizations, including UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), UN Development Programme (UNDP), Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP), SARI/Equity etc.  Her academic background is in Science, and higher specialization in International Relations, Conflict Analysis and UN Peacekeeping.  She can also be connected via: LinkedIn  and Twitter/X 

 

 

Jayant Misra, Consultant (Drug Law Enforcement), South Asia

Jayant is associated with UNODC South Asia as an expert consultant on drug law enforcement. A career civil servant, Jayant joined the Indian Revenue Service, Government of India in 1981. Prior to UNODC, he served as the Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. He last assignment before leaving the Government in 2019 was Chairman, Settlement Commission. He has held several important positions including Member, Customs, Excise and Service Tax Settlement Commission; Director General, GST and Director General, Systems. Misra previously served as the Chief Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise Zone, Vadodara (Gujarat), the Development Commissioner, NEPZ, Ministry of Commerce, and OSD/Joint Secretary/Director, Rajya Sabha. He was also a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the Allahabad University. A graduate in Physics, he holds a Masters in History; Masters in Business Administration with specialization in Finance and a degree in Law from Delhi University. His hobbies include Photography, Travel and Reading. 

 

 

Seema Joshi Arya, Criminal Justice Expert, South Asia

Seema works as the Criminal Justice Officer at the UNODC Regional Office for South Asia. Her work includes providing policy level inputs on matters relating to criminal justice and transnational organized crime. She has extensive experience in the field ofhuman rights, criminal law, justice sector reform, access to justice, drug trafficking, gender and prison reform.She has over fifteen years of experience in working with diversified systems, sectors and organizations, ranging from the civil society, government, international organizations, and other UN organizations. She has attained her degree in Law from the University of Delhi, India and holds a Master's in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford.

 

Stella Thomas, National Programme Officer (Finance and Operations), South Asia

Stella Thomas joined UNODC in 2004. She holds the overall responsibility of managing UNODC South Asia’s finance, budgeting, programming requirements related to Implementation and Operations. As NPO, Stella leads the Finance team and guides the Regional Office to effectively enhance overall financial and operational delivery. She is part of the core operations team of the Regional Office which is charged with backstopping implementation and administration of all programmes, projects and special initiatives, including planning and reporting. Besides oversight and quality assurance on finance matters, Stella works closely with project teams in the South Asian countries, UNODC HQs, government, UN partners and civil society.

 

Poonam Bhambri, Programme Associate (Human Resources), South Asia

Poonam joined UNODC in 1989. She is responsible for the human resource management of the regional office.

 

 

Samarth Pathak, Communications Officer and Focal Point (Youth and Education), South Asia

Samarth joined UNODC in May 2017 as the Communications Officer for South Asia. In this role, Samarth coordinates strategic advocacy, communications, public affairs and external relations for UNODC in the region. He also leads youth and education-focused initiatives on the SDGs, peace, crime prevention and integrity in the region. During COVID-19, he spearheaded in India the 'Lockdown Learners' series, aimed at strengthening youth action on peace, SDGs and the rule of law through education, with an emphasis on bridging socio-economic and gender-divides. The series was featured in the prestigious UN Innovation Network's 'Best of 2020 Initiatives' for its innovation and impact. Samarth has also moderated prominent forums engaging youth and educators, including the first and second Global Youth Forums convened by the Ministry of Justice, Government of Japan; UNESCO-UNODC Regional Dialogues and participated in media panels and podcasts. He has also provided substantive inputs and knowledge support to various initiatives on education and youth engagement with a focus on crime prevention, SDGs, integrity and peace. Prior to UNODC, Samarth worked as a news producer with Reuters TV and moved to the policy-development space in his stints with reputed international think tanks. His work experience encompasses strategic communication, community engagement on the SDGs, partnerships and external relations, policy analysis and public advocacy, Track II Diplomacy, network building and news reporting and production. Samarth has previously written for The Huffington Post, Medium, The Guardian, Reuters Alertnet, The Dawn, Hardnews and The Asian Age, and has appeared as a panelist in media dialogues and podcasts. Connect on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

 

Savita Bhat, Admin and Finance Associate, South Asia

Savita has been working with UNODC since 1999. She provides financial and administrative support to the regional project on drug law enforcement.

 

Anupama Chouhan, Management and Admin Associate, South Asia

Anupama joined UNODC in April 2007. She assists the Regional Representative in the overall day-to-day management and coordination of office activities and manages her agenda. She also acts as the security focal point for UNODC.

 

       

Geeta Bhaskar, Admin and Finance Associate, South Asia

Geeta joined UNODC in New Delhi in March 2012. She supports the Office's work on anti-corruption and HIV prevention in prisons.

 

Rajesh Kumar, Field Office Support Engineer, South Asia

Rajesh joined UNODC in November 2003. He is responsible for providing support to field offices with their day-to-day information technology needs. 

 

Santosh Kumar Sharma, Admin and Finance Associate

Santosh is an experienced Finance and Accounts professional with over 9 years of experience in the various social development Sectors like Health, Rural Development, Rehabilitation, Environment and Livelihoods, mostly in the Govt. setup. He joined UNODC-ROSA in July 2023 as an Admin and Finance Associate. Prior to joining UNODC-ROSA, Santosh worked at the United Nations Development Programme in Leh Ladakh (India), the National Health Mission (NHM) in Haryana (India), the Haryana State Rural Livelihoods Mission (HSRLM) in Haryana (India), and the Regional Centre of the National Institute of Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disability (NIEPVD) in Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh- India). Santosh holds a Master's degree in Business Administration (Finance), a Master's degree in Commerce, and a Bachelor's degree in Commerce.

 




  

 

         

S.M. Naheeaan, National Programme Coordinator, Bangladesh

Naheeaan started his work with UNODC Bangladesh in June 2020 as National Programme Coordinator. His responsibilities with UNODC mainly comprise coordination and effective implementation of the UNHCR-funded project on building knowledge, capacities and resilience to counter threats of drugs and crime in Cox's Bazar, as well as advocacy and coordination with the Government of Bangladesh and other relevant stakeholders with regard to project activities in the field of countering organized crime and drugs, with a focus on human rights and gender. He will also support ongoing initiatives and help develop new projects for Bangladesh under the Regional Programme for South Asia; provide substantive inputs to the Government of Bangladesh and other relevant stakeholders in the field of countering drugs and crime, human rights and gender, and support fundraising efforts. Naheeaan has been working in the UN system for over ten years and has worked with four UN agencies. In his last position before joining UNODC, he had worked with UN Women on Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW), Gender-Responsive Budgeting and Planning (GRB&P) and Gender & HIV areas. He had also worked with UNDP on Business and Human Rights and GRB&P areas. Before that he had worked in various capacities with UNAIDS, UNFPA, Cairn Energy Bangladesh Limited, and SHURID-Bangladesh. Naheeaan holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. Currently he is pursuing another Master’s in Governance Studies.

 

      

Mahdy Hassan, National Programme Coordinator, GLO.ACT-Bangladesh

Mahdy joined with UNODC in July 2019 in Bangladesh. He is the National Programme Coordinator where he is the in charge of the management and implementation of the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants - Bangladesh (GLO.ACT-Bangladesh) Programme at the country level. He was previously the National Programme Officer for GLO.ACT-Bangladesh with UNODC from 2019-2022, supporting management and implementation of GLO.ACT-Bangladesh. He has 09 years of progressive working experience at UNODC, UNHCR, BRAC and Relief International on the prevention and fight against trafficking in persons (TIP) and the smuggling of migrants (SOM). Mahdy is trained on human rights and crime prevention issues, gender equality and human rights mainstreaming, results-based management and the human rights programme management, designing and implementation. Prior to working with UNODC, Mahdy worked with UNHCR as counter-trafficking and protection focal point, supporting to conduct and design training on TIP, SOM, protection and human rights for the law enforcement agencies and border officials and also coordinating to provide protection services to the refugees at Cox’s Bazar refugee camp. Mahdy worked for three years from 2014-2017 with Relief International as the Programme Management Specialist, leading two counter trafficking projects funded by the US Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. He also worked with BRAC Advocacy for Social Change Programem, leading the human rights and governance policy advocacy portfolio. In addition, Mahdy worked with ARTICLE 19 and the National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh. He holds Bachelor and Master of Laws degrees from University of Dhaka. He participated in a specialized course on Economic, Social and Development Rights at the Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal in 2013. Besides his mother tongue (Bangla), Mahdy is fluent in English.

 

Md. Abu Taher, National Programme Coordinator (HIV/AIDS), Bangladesh

Taher started his job with UNODC Bangladesh in March 2020 as National Programme Coordinator (HIV/AIDS). His responsibilities with UNODC include leading the HIV/AIDS Programme in Bangladesh, programme management and development, contributing to resource mobilization for the HIV/AIDS programme in Bangladesh, contributing to developing and maintaining strategic partnerships, as well as assistance in fundraising efforts of UNODC. Before joining UNODC, Taher worked with CARE Bangladesh for over 19 years. Throughout his career, he has worked in different capacities on development issues including HIV/AIDS & Drugs; Migration & Development; Labour Empowerment and Promotion of Labour Rights; Women & Child trafficking; Child Marriage, as well as Governance and System Strengthening. He has good working experience both with public and private donors including EC, DFID, USAID, World Bank and others. Academically, Taher obtained a Master’s in Sociology and has also completed a professional Master’s degree in Governance Studies.

 

Joshua Arteta Gonzalez, Associate Programme Officer, Indian Ocean East Team, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Bangladesh

Joshua works under UNODC's Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP), Indian Ocean East Team as an Associate Programme Officer, covering project implementation and operations to strengthen maritime and riverine security in Bangladesh. He first joined UNODC in 2018 when GMCP's office was established in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 2020, he was deployed to Male, Maldives, where he was in charge of consolidating and expanding GMCP's portfolio, leading to projects aimed at enhancing the capabilities of criminal justice actors and law enforcement members in a variety of topics, including security preparedness and response in local/hybrid islands, maritime domain awareness (MDA), law enforcement, criminal intelligence, maritime governance, blue enforcement, prosecution of maritime offences, and research in the maritime space. He also supported the implementation of capacity-building initiatives to contribute the government's efforts on prison reform, particularly prison security, incident management, rehabilitation and COVID-19 prevention and response in prison settings. Thanks to this experience, he has gained knowledge on various types of mairitme crimes, including drug trafficking at sea, trafficking in persons (including organ removal), maritime terrorism, crimes affecting the fisheries sector, and crimes impacting the marine space. Joshua's background is in International Relations with a specialization in State/Public Management, and he holds a Master's degree in International Development and Management from Lund University, Sweden. 

 

      

A.B.M Ziaul Kabir, National Programme Officer (Prisons), Bangladesh

Ziaul joined UNODC in Bangladesh in March 2021. His responsibilities at UNODC include managing the programmatic and financial implementation of prison reform projects, developing and facilitating regional and national level training activities, facilitating establishment of technical working groups on prisons, contributing to technical consultations with donors and other actors on criminal justice and prison related matters and exploring new fund-raising opportunities. He has more than 20 years of professional experience on programme development, management and policy advocacy in different countries in Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand) and Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Burkina Faso) on issues related to poverty reduction, violence against women, girls and children, human and child rights, trafficking in persons and safe migration, and strengthening parliamentary institutions and practices. He obtained both his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Social Anthropology from Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka and a LLB degree from National University. Prior to working with UNODC, he worked with UNDP Bangladesh, Plan International Bangladesh, the Asia Foundation, Danish International Development Assistance–Government of Bangladesh (DANIDA-GOB), ICDDR,B and WaterAid Bangladesh.

 

Md Mohaimenul Islam, Project Support Associate, Indian Ocean East Team, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Bangladesh

Mohaimenul is currently working as a Project Support Associate at UNODC, supporting Global Maritime Crime Programme in Bangladesh. Previously he also supported UNODC's project activities under Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants and the Global Programme to Strengthen the Legal Regime against Terrorism. Before joining UNODC's Global Maritime Crime Programme, he worked with the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials, Cambodia, and gained expertise in international law. Mohaimenul holds a background in law and is a published author. He has special interests in law reform and international criminal justice.

 

    

Mohammad Hasibul Haq, Admin and Finance Associate, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Bangladesh

Hasibul joined UNODC GLO.ACT-Bangladesh project on countering trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants in April 2020. He contributes to effective project implementation and operations, with extensive support on all issues related to administrative and financial management, procurement, travel, and ensuring the overall timeliness of delivery. Before joining GLO.ACT-Bangladesh, Hasibul had been working with UNODC Bangladesh since August 2018 providing administrative and financial support under various projects. Hasibul has more than 16 years of experience working with different organizations including UNODC, UNDP, the World Bank and others. During this period, he worked in the areas of finance, accounts, audit, budget, sub-grant management, procurement and other relevant project support activities. Hasibul completed his Master’s degree in Commerce, with a major in Accounting.

  

    

MD SHARIF HOSSAIN, GLO.ACT-Bangladesh

Sharif joined UNODC with GLO.ACT-Bangladesh project in February 2023. He contributes to effective project implementation and operations, with extensive support on issues related to administrative and financial management. Before joining UNODC, Sharif had been working with UNDP Bangladesh since March 2020 providing administrative and financial support in Partnership for a Tolerant and Inclusive Bangladesh (PTIB) project. Sharif has more than 14 years of experience working with different organizations including Transparency International Bangladesh and Social & Economic Enhancement Programme. During this period, he worked in the areas of financial reporting, audit, budget, sub-grant management and other relevant project support activities. Sharif completed his master’s degree in commerce, with a major in finance. Besides his mother tongue (Bangla), Sharif is fluent in English.

    

Rifat Zabeen Khan, UNV Project Support Associate, GLO.ACT-Bangladesh

Rifat joined UNODC with GLO.ACT Bangladesh Programme in September 2021 as UNV Project Support Associate. Her role aims at supporting the implementation of GLO.ACT with both programmatic and administration support. Before joining with UNODC, she worked with a corporate law firm. In 2019, Rifat did internship with UNODC Bangladesh Office, supporting its work in the area of trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants, maritime crime and prison reform. Rifat holds a postgraduate degree on international law from the University of Dhaka. Her area of interests includes migration, criminal justice and humanitarian law. Besides her mother tongue (Bangla), Rifat is fluent in English.

 

    

Tasneem Binta Karim, Programme Associate, GLO.ACT-Bangladesh 

Tasneem joined with UNODC in Bangladesh in December 2022 as Programme Associate for GLO.ACT-Bangladesh Programme. Her role aims at supporting the implementation of GLO.ACT activities at the national and regional levels. She  is a qualified lawyer with diverse work experience in the migration and labour sector. Before joining UNODC, she had been working with World Food Programme (WFP) where her focus was on project implementation, partnership management, and strategic planning. Prior to joining WFP, Tasneem worked with Solidarity Center Bangladesh office keeping close involvement with the grass-root level workers in the migration and labour sector in South Asia Coalition. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degrees with a specialization in Public International Law from BRAC University. She is currently pursuing her second master’s in Development Studies from Dhaka University. Besides her mother tongue (Bangla), Tasneem is fluent in English.

 

Fahmida Noor, Admin and Finance Associate, Bangladesh

Fahmida joined UNODC in March 2021 as the Admin and Finance Associate in Bangladesh. Fahmida has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Murdoch University Perth Australia, Dubai Campus and a BSc in Applied Accounting from the Oxford Brooks University, United Kingdom. Since 2017 Fahmida is also a member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a global body of successful professionals in the finance and accounting field. Prior to joining the UN, Fahmida worked for over 10 years in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in sectors such as Banking, Manufacturing, Engineering and Oil & Gas refinery. 

 

Alida Binte Saqi, UNV Project Support Officer for GLO.ACT-Bangladesh

Alida Binte Saqi is a UNV Project Support Officer for GLO.ACT-Bangladesh. Her role aims at supporting the implementation of GLO.ACT with both programmatic and administration support. Before joining with UNODC, she worked as a Lecturer of Law with the University of Asia Pacific and Northern University Bangladesh since January 2016. She has worked with the UNODC vendor as a consultant and translated two documents on evidentiary issues in trafficking cases and interlinkages of marriage in smuggling of migrants. She has also supported as a research assistant in preparing initial State party reports on ICCPR and ICESCR. She has worked with vulnerable communities such as the tea garden workers, the hijras, the Dalits and the apparel sector workers while volunteering with different NGOs. She is a licensed advocate having experience in dealing with trafficking in persons cases at the District Court of Dhaka. Alida holds an LL.M in Comparative Law from McGill University. She has completed her LL.B (Honours) and LL.M from Northern University Bangladesh. She also registered and completed the Online Summer Course in Public International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law in June 2021. Her area of interests includes migration, criminal justice, IHL and autonomous weapons. Besides her mother tongue (Bangla), Alida is fluent in English and has elementary skills in French.

 

  

Tandin Wangmo, Programme Coordinator, Bhutan

Tandin Wangmo was previously the CEO/Executive Director of RENEW. Founded by Her Majesty the Queen Mother Sangay Choden Wangchuck (2004), RENEW is the only organization dedicated to the empowerment of women and children, with specific attention to the survivors of domestic/gender-based violence. Ms. Wangmo holds a Masters' degree in Educational Studies from the University of Newcastle, Australia. She has also worked with the Media and Knowledge Centre, People's Democratic Party, Institute of Management Studies, Gross National Happiness Centre and the Ministry of Education in Bhutan. She has proven resource mobilisation skills and experience of developing strategic plans and policies. She has been a Master Trainer in Life Skills Education, Public Health Issues, Leadership and Communication Skills. She holds a Masters in Educational Studies from the University of Newcastle, Australia and a Bachelor's in Education from Samtse College of Education, Bhutan.

 

 

Sangay Dorji, Project Assistant, Bhutan

Sangay joined UNODC in September 2022 as National Junior Consultant to support efforts to prevent and counter Trafficking in Persons in Bhutan. His responsibilities with UNODC in Bhutan include general administration and financial management. Sangay has a BSc in Sustainable Development, with about 5 years of work experience in handling various projects funded under Enhanced Integrated Framework and Green Climate Fund. He has also worked as an M&E Officer with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and as a Project Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests in Bhutan.

 

 

 

  

Enrico Boninsegna, Head of Office a.i., Maldives

Mr. Enrico Boninsegna started his assignment with UNODC in May 2020, supporting activities carried out in the field of preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Prior to his current position, Mr. Boninsegna worked for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe as a Monitoring Officer in Donetsk (Non-Government-Controlled Areas of Ukraine) for one year, and as a Human Rights Officer on Countering Terrorism in Warsaw (Poland) for six years. Additional professional experiences include working as an Associate Expert for UNODC’s Regional Office for Central Asia (2010-2012) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and as a defence Case Manager at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (2009-2010) in The Hague, The Netherlands. Mr. Boninsegna holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Bologna (Italy) and a LL.M. from the University of Turin (Italy) jointly organized with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. 

 

Arujun Mohamed, National Programme Officer, Indian Ocean East Team, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Maldives

Arujun has long served as a police officer in the Maldives prior to joining UNODC. His 17-year career in law enforcement has contributed to the improvement of law enforcement services and stakeholder agencies such as the Maldives Anti-Corruption Commission, Immigration, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), and other cooperative institutions in the Maldives. His primary contributions were related to criminal investigations and law enforcement communication, as well as training and educating the police force and its stakeholder agencies. Arujun holds a Bachelor's degree in Security and Law Enforcement Studies and a Master's degree in Communication from Malaysia's Taylors University.

 

 

 

  

 

Ulrich Meiser, Law Enforcement Expert, Nepal

Mr. Ulrich Meiser, Law Enforcement Expert, has joined UNODC Programme Office in Nepal as the Head of Office effective 10 July 2023. Mr. Meiser holds a master’s degree in Business and Administration from the Federal University of Münster, Germany.  Previously (since October 2017), he has served as the CCP Regional Coordinator in Bangkok, Thailand, and prior to that (during February 2014 – September 2017) as the UNODC Programme Coordinator for Afghanistan. Before joining UNODC, Mr. Meiser worked as Senior Technical Officer at the World Customs Organization (from December 2003 – January 2014) in Brussels, Belgium, and as Senior Customs Officer with the German Customs Administration (during August 1990 – November 2003) in Cologne, Germany. He will also function as the Regional Coordinator of the UNODC Passengers and Cargo Border Team for South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, under the overall guidance of the UNODC ROSA..  

  

 

Reena Pathak , Project Officer, Nepal

Reena Pathak joined UNODC in October 2018. She has over 11 years of professional experience working on gender, human rights, labor migration and human trafficking issues. She has worked with The Asia Foundation, Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), Peoples Law Firm and Research Center, Kathmandu School of Law. Her responsibilities with UNODC will include substantive and financial implementation of project activities; support of law reform initiatives on gender-based violence issues, human trafficking, human smuggling, drug trafficking and assistance to the Programme Coordinator in a number of areas, including exploration of new funding opportunities, providing legal and policy implications on those areas. Her good rapport with the human rights agencies and stakeholders of the justice system and experience of working in with the government and non-government agencies will prove to be highly helpful in delivering required results, developing work plans and building collaboration with other national and international stakeholders. She holds bachelor's degree in Law and Master's Degree (LL.M) in Human Rights and Gender Justice.  

 

 

 

Krishna Prasad Sedhain , Admin and Finance Associate, Nepal

Krishna Prasad Sedhain has joined as the Admin and Finance Associate with UNODC Programme Office in Nepal effective March 27, 2023.

Krishna holds a master’s degree in Business Studies with specialization in Finance. Before joining UNODC, he worked as an Admin and Finance Assistant with WHO Nepal. He has also worked with UN-Habitat Nepal as a Finance Assistant. Krishna will be mainly working to provide the general administrative support to the Programme Office and to organize virtual regional / national workshops, trainings, consultations for policy makers, civil society organizations and Law enforcement officials in Nepal.

  

Siri Bjune, Head, Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) / Head of Programme Office in Sri Lanka a.i.

Ms. Bjune is a Norwegian national and holds Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Oslo. She assumed the posts of Head of GMCP and the Head of Office in January 2022. She has been working with UNODC for 15 years. Prior to taking up the current post, Ms. Bjune worked with the Norwegian law enforcement for a year, before moving abroad. She worked as a trainee for the EFTA Surveillance Authority in Brussels and joined the UNODC HQ in Vienna in 2007 as an Associate Expert within UNODC’s Anti-Corruption Branch. Following which, she worked in Eastern Africa and Kenya, where she helped launch the first UNODC Regional Programme. In 2013 she joined the Global Maritime Crime Programme and was based in Nigeria where she was responsible for developing the GMCP Atlantic Ocean Regional Team with focus on legal reform and capacity building in maritime law enforcement. She joined the GMCP headquarters in 2019 and is responsible for strategic direction, policy development, programming and portfolio management for GMCP while providing advisory support and guidance to all regional teams under GMCP and the Programme office of Sri Lanka. 

 

 

Siji Song, Programme Coordinator, Indian Ocean East Team of the Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP)/ UNODC

Ms. Song is a South Korean national, and a lawyer with Master’s degrees in Public International Law, International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, as well as Law of the Sea and Maritime Security. She assumed the post of Programme Coordinator of Indian Ocean East Team of the GMCP in December 2022. She has been working with UNODC since 2015. Prior to taking up the current post, Ms. Song worked for different UNODC’s programme, country and regional offices in East, West and Central Africa. In 2019, she joined the Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) where she is human rights focal point. Throughout her UNODC experience, she was responsible programme/project coordination and management on criminal justice responses to transnational organised crime and illicit trafficking both on land and at sea. 

 

Anusha Munasinghe, National Programme Coordinator, Sri Lanka 

Anusha is the National Program Officer in Sri Lanka. Her work includes a wide range of areas, including criminal justice reform, drugs and health, prison reform, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, legal aid and access to justice. Prior to her current role with the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime, Anusha was the Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Sri Lanka. She also served as UNHCR’s Bali Process Project Coordinator based in the Regional Support Office (RSO) in Bangkok. Anusha has extensive experience on rule of law, administration of justice, access to justice, child rights, legal aid, alternative dispute resolution, migration and human trafficking, policy planning, development and analysis. Anusha studied Law at the University of Colombo and holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Management from the Monash University in Australia.

 

Badra Duflot, National Project Officer, Indian Ocean East Team, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Sri Lanka

Badra joined the UNODC Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) in January 2021 in the Colombo office for the Indian Ocean East (IOE) team as a National Project Officer and has the MLE portfolio in Sri Lanka with activities including trainings of prosecutors, inter-agency and regional cooperation for VBSS, Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and Crimes that Affect the Environment. Badra moved to Sri Lanka in 2017, as an entrepreneur for creating an eco-responsible hotel project. Before coming to Sri Lanka, Badra worked in various private sectors in metallurgy at Alstom France and Renewable Energies at GE France. Badra has a Bachelor Degree in Business Management from Southampton Solent University in UK, and is currently enrolled in an online Master Degree in Maritime Law at the Law Faculty and Political Science of Nantes in France.

 

Buddhika Ranadheera, National Project Officer, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Sri Lanka

Ms. Buddhika Ranadheera is working in the capacity as National Project Officer of the UNODC Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) Headquarters based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The role includes assisting Headquarter team with annual events, staff capacity building, reporting, merchandising, visibility, fundraising and coordination with all GMCP regional teams. Buddhika also supports the GMCP Indian Ocean East Programme as Visit, Board, Search and Seisure (VBSS) Coordinator for Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. She is a Sri Lankan with a degree in social sciences and Maters in International Relations from University of Colombo. Buddhika worked in one of the largest private sector conglomerates in Sri Lanka, John Keells Holdings for 1 year before moving to Parliament of Sri Lanka where she worked as a Foreign Relations Officer for 6 years. She has been working as Deputy Director, Programmes and Research in the civil society organization, SLYCAN Trust before moving to United Nations. She worked in UNDP Sri Lanka for 1 year before joining GMCP HQ of UNODC in 2019.

 

         

Dushanthi Fernando, National Project Coordinator, Indian Ocean East Team, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Sri Lanka

Dushanthi joined the UNODC in 2020 as a National Programme Officer and supported all UNODC activities on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism. In 2022, she joined the Global Maritime Crime Programme, to support its projects focused on detention, imprisonment, prevention of violent extremism and management of High-risk Prisoners. She has over ten years of experience under different capacities in both humanitarian and development sectors, working on peacebuilding, human rights, forced migration, gender and advocacy. Prior to joining UNODC, she provided technical assistance, programme management and external relations support to the Office of the Resident Coordinator and UNHCR in Sri Lanka. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development Studies from Uppsala University in Sweden and a Master’s degree in International Relations from University of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

  

Supunika Subasinghe, Programme Assistant, Indian Ocean East Team, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Sri Lanka

Supunika joined UNODC Global Maritime Programme (GMCP) Sri Lanka in July 2019. Being the first Programme Support staff joined for GMCP Sri Lanka team, she contributed extensively in building up the operational and financial base to carry out the programme implementation activities. She currently provides financial and administrative support to the GMCP Indian Ocean East team in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh. Prior to joining UNODC, she has worked in UNDP and also has 9 years of work experience serving in private sector organizations in management and advisory roles. Supunika is an Associate member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)-UK, and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems and Management from University of London.

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Thowfeek Ismail, Programme Assistant, Indian Ocean East Team, Global Maritime Crime Programme, Sri Lanka

Thowfeek joined UNODC in Sri Lanka Project Office in November 2018 and moved to Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) in April 2020. His responsibilities would be providing administrative and financial support to GMCP in Sri Lanka. He has extensive experience with UN in Admin and Finance and Procurement over 16 years. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and an Executive MSc in Finance also, reading an MBA at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

 

Thaminda Perera, Admin and Finance Associate, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Sri Lanka 

Thaminda joined UNODC in 2020 as the Admin and Finance Associate at the Project Office in Sri Lanka. Thaminda has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sustainable Performance Management from the Manchester Metropolitan University. He further studied management accounts from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London, United Kingdom. Thaminda’s first appointment with the UN was with UNICEF Regional Office in Denmark. He joined UNHCR Colombo Office as Admin and Finance Associate in 2016. Prior to the UN, Thaminda worked for KPMG and Ernst & Young for nearly seven years. During his tenures with the UN and Mercantile sector, he has worked as an Auditor, Audit Supervisor, Finance Controller, Finance Assistant and Admin and Finance Associate. 

 

Support Staff

 

Devendra, R S Yadav, Diwan Ram, Security Guards, India

The Guards have been with UNODC since April 2004. They ensure proper security checks at the entrance and exit of persons and goods into and out of UNODC premises.

 

 

Nabaraj Giri, Driver, Nepal

Nabraj joined UNODC in Nepal in July 2008. He works for the Nepal office and drives staff and official guests safely to their destinations.