Fatiha serour biography of mahatma

Interview and translation by Alice Binnington – Action for Development

Can you tell us a little about your background?

Let’s say my “claim to fame” is that I’ve spent a long, long time in the UN system, as well as in the non-governmental sector.

I held various positions in the UN, some of them based in Headquarters – in New York, Geneva, Denmark, Italy; others on the ground, including Somalia, Palestine, Sudan… about 45 countries including Afghanistan. My last formal posting with the UN system was as Deputy Secretary General in Somalia, responsible for the whole political and democratic process, human rights, the rule of law, women’s protection, children’s protection… Since I left Somalia, I’ve been mostly working as an independent.

I’ve co-created my own platform which is called the Justice Impact Lab, where we look at issues of how justice is implemented using, amongst others, SDG 16, which speaks to accountable and inclusive in