DCO at Regional Level

Mr. El Hillo brings 32 years of experience in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations with the United Nations.  He previously served as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General/Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator in Libya (DSRSG/RC/HC) and the DSRSG/RC/ and Resident Representative in Liberia leading the post-Mission transition. He was also the RC/HC/RR in Syria. 

Having worked in many complex humanitarian and complex peacekeeping operations, including in Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Iraq, Tanzania and others, he authored the playbook on the humanitarian-peacebuilding-development nexus in complex emergencies. 

Mr. El Hillo holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Khartoum, Faculty of Law. 

Ms. Nega brings over 24 years of experience with the United Nations, including four years with the Development Coordination Office (DCO). 
Prior to joining DCO, Ms. Nega served with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in various capacities, including Acting Head of the ICT and Digital Policy Section, Chief of Programme Evaluation, and Acting Head of ECA's Strategic Planning, Oversight and Results Department. She also led the implementation of the Secretary-General’s UN Development System Reform at the country and regional levels during her tenure as Senior Coordination Officer with DCO Africa.
Before joining the UN, Ms. Nega was a lecturer in International Law at the University of Toulouse, where she was an active member of the research center on new technologies global normative frameworks and governance models.
Ms. Nega holds a Master's degree and a Diplome d'Etudes Approfondies (DEA) from the University of Toulouse, France.

Ms. Manzi brings extensive United Nations experience in development and complex settings. She most recently served as Resident Coordinator in Burkina Faso and Djibouti and has held other leadership positions, including Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ukraine, Iraq, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. She also served with the United Nations in the southern Africa region, as well as in Angola, Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Haiti. 

Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Manzi worked in the private sector and collaborated with non-governmental organizations, think-tanks and universities on development, disaster management and reconstruction, as well as peace building initiatives. 

She holds a master’s degree in post-war reconstruction and development studies from the University of York and a master’s degree in architecture from the Universita’ degli Studi di Firenze.

Mr. McLachlan-Karr has over 30 years’ experience working with the United Nations.  He has held various posts within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America regions, including in complex emergency settings such as Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, Kosovo, Sudan and Iraq.   He has served as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, Jordan, the Maldives, and Sierra Leone, and was later appointed Deputy Special Representative, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator with the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau.  Between 2016-17, he  was seconded to the World Economic Forum in Geneva as a specialist in the coordination of health emergencies.

Prior to joining DCO in 2022, Mr. McLachlan-Karr  was appointed Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General/Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he played a critical role in leading the reconfiguration of the UN system in the context of the progressive drawdown of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), including through the implementation of the Humanitarian Development Peace Nexus. 

Mr. McLachlan-Karr holds a bachelor’s degree in law and political affairs from the University of Queensland and a Master of Philosophy degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge. 

Ms. Son brings over 30 years of experience in international development with the United Nations. Prior to assuming the Regional Director post in Istanbul, she served as the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. During this period, she supported the transition from a 30-year dictatorship to a people-led democracy and the transition from humanitarian-centered UN action to peace building focused and SDG-centered sustainable development.

She joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1994 and has since served in Somalia, Lao PDR, Timor-Leste during the pre-independence period, Indonesia during the first democratic elections and the 2004 Tsunami and in Thailand. She also served in New York, as UNDP’s Programme Adviser on Afghanistan. Ms. Son was later appointed as the Director of Corporate Programmes at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In this role, she was responsible for organizing the World Humanitarian Summit and overseeing work on communications, information services, policy development, and humanitarian financing, including the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the country-based pooled funds.

Ms. Son holds a MPA degree from the Columbia University in New York.

Mr. Valent brings 24 years of service to the United Nations, primarily with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Africa, Central America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He most recently served as UN Resident Coordinator in Argentina and has held leadership positions with UNDP in various countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, El Salvador, and Belize. He has also served as Special Representative of the UNDP Administrator for the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People.

Mr. Valent holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science from Bologna University and a master's degree in international relations from the University of Sussex.