Heike Alefsen (Ms) is the Senior Human Rights Adviser to the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team Bangladesh. Before joining in this position in May 2018, she was in Bangkok as the Regional Adviser to the UN Development Group Asia-Pacific for the past three and a half years and strengthened the integration of human rights based approaches in collaboration with regional directors and 24 RCs and UN country teams. She provided policy guidance and quality assurance on UNDAF processes, SDG implementation and international human rights frameworks, application of Human Rights up Front principles in programming, and managed the regional UNDG AP human rights network. As a former Deputy Head of the OHCHR Regional Office based in Bangkok and Yangon, she initiated country programming and policy advocacy with the Government, UN and civil society in Myanmar starting in 2011 and served as NRA UNCT and HCT member. Heike’s prior positions with the UN were with UNIFEM and DESA in New York, focused on gender mainstreaming and women’s rights in conflict situations and as head of a Unit in OHCHR Geneva during the institution-building and review phases of the Human Rights Council and its special procedures. She also worked with the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and Sarajevo, where she established and co-led the organization’s first office after the war. Originally from Germany, Heike started her professional life with Amnesty International in London and has an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex.
Email: heike.alefsen@one.un.org
