Jood Wasel Al-Harthi was recently appointed political affairs officer in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the UN in New York.

The first Saudi woman to occupy a position in the EOSG she will be involved in areas that support peace, justice, building strong institutions, climate and environmental justice, women and youth empowerment, conflict prevention, and responding to threats like misinformation and disinformation.

Al-Harthi has spent the past three years at the UN in a variety of positions, including working for 11 months at the EOSG Rule of Law Unit. She also served in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, where she was responsible for the policy and mediation division.

Al-Harthi’s experience in DPPA gives her exceptional insight into what it entails to build a resilient society, people-centered solutions, and the strategic role that the international community and even individuals have in facing the multiple and interlinked global challenges to peace and security.

She previously worked in the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund in Central Asia, South Asia and Europe. She also co-chaired the Peace and Security Pillar Anti-Racism Action Group and was a member of the Secretary-General’s Anti-Racism Task Force on Implicit Biases.

During her time at the UN, Al-Harthi has worked on global issues that are focused on conflict prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

Working with the organization has enabled her to support policies, analysis and projects that serve countries of conflict on several fronts, including reconciliation, managing intercommunal conflict and social cohesion which enhance promoting inclusivity.

Before joining the UN, Al-Harthi worked in top-tier international law firms at their corporate departments in London and Dubai. Between 2017 and 2019, she supported a team with Lawyers Without Borders to develop storybooks for children in Tanzania to raise their awareness of human trafficking. She also gained criminal law experience at the California Central District Federal Court in 2014.

Al-Harthi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law from Swansea University in Wales in 2015. Three years later she earned a master’s degree in the same subject from SOAS University of London.

Before obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she studied pre-law with a focus on philosophy and politics at University College London.