United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen announced on 4 March 2019 the appointment of Najat Rochdi of Morocco as his Senior Humanitarian Adviser and chair of the Humanitarian Task Force.

Ms. Rochdi is also the Team Leader and Director of the Peer-to-Peer Programme of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, based in Geneva.  Prior to this posting, she had been appointed by the UN Secretary-General in March 2017 as his Deputy Special Representative for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). 

She has also held senior-level positions in the Moroccan Government, including as a Deputy Minister.

Ms. Rochdi holds a doctorate in mathematics and is an engineer in computer sciences.

Born in 1961, she has four children.