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Shahrzad Tadjbakhsh

USA
Deputy Director (Policy & Law), Division of International Protection, UNHCR
Speaker: Mobilizing the Global Legal Community to Protect and Find Solutions for Refugees and Others Forcibly Displaced, October 21 Shahrzad Tadjbakhsh is the Deputy Director in the Division of International Protection at UNHCR Headquarters, responsible for the legal and policy work of the organization for refugees and stateless persons. She began her career with UNHCR in 1994 as a protection officer in Malaysia, then Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide before moving to UNHCR Headquarters to serve in a number of capacities, including as the Legal Advisor for Refugee Women and Children. She subsequently moved to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, where she was responsible for the human rights programme in Afghanistan and also served as Chief of Staff for two High Commissioners, Louise Arbour and Navi Pillay, before returning to UNHCR in 2017. She holds a Bachelor's Degree with Honours from Northwestern University and a JD from University of Maryland School of Law.