'Eliane Duthoit' (born
1946,
Brittany), a
French citizen, is a senior
United Nations official working for the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Since the early
1990s, she was progessively appointed as head of the
OCHA offices in
Ingushetia (covering
Chechnya),
Uganda,
Nepal,
Southern Sudan, and
Chad, besides short assignments with other functions in
East Timor and
Burundi.
In
Uganda, she played an important role in attracting international attention to what the
United Nations believed was a forgotten humanitarian crisis.
[1] While in Chechnya, she played an important role in facilitating negotiations between the
Russian military and
Chechen rebels to ensure humanitarian relief for
IDPs.
[2]
In
2006, she was appointed by
United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan as head of the
OCHA office in
Juba,
Southern Sudan, under the leadership of Under-Secretary-General
Jan Egeland. This happened at the time when humanitarian needs were gradually leaving the way to development, in which OCHA along with
United Nations agencies reportedly played a role.
[3] In
Southern Sudan, she also played a significant role, in facilitating negotiations at the 2006-2007
Juba talks between the Government of
Uganda and the
Lord's Resistance Army, hosted and mediated by the Government of
Southern Sudan with
United Nations support in the person of
Joaquim Chissano as
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for
LRA-affected areas.
[4]
In August
2007, she was appointed by
United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki Moon as head of the
OCHA office in
Chad, based in the capital
N'Djamena.
When not working, she lives in
Brittany, and has three daughters.
References
1. Northern Uganda: a humanitarian crisis that demands sustained focus
2. Chechen refugees facing different fear
3. UN: Humanitarian food aid leaving the way to development
4. IRIN: Progress in LRA talks, but problems remain for IDPs