Biography
Mr. Christian Salazar Volkmann works as Director for Field Operations and Technical Cooperation for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. Before that, he served as Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean in the newly established UN Office for Development Cooperation (DCO) in Panama. In this role, he oversaw the Resident Coordinators in the region, supporting the development of new UN Cooperation Frameworks and the implementation of UN reform.
From 2015-2019 he led the UN work in El Salvador and Belize as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Representative. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Salazar Volkmann held the position of Deputy Director, Programme Division at UNICEF HQ (2012 – 2015). Amongst others, he served as UNICEF´s programmatic lead for agenda 2030, as well as divisional focal point for emergencies, peacebuilding, resilience and migration.
From 2009-2012, Mr. Salazar represented the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, with a focus on security sector reform, transitional justice and monitoring of human rights.
Prior to this assignment, he worked as UNICEF Representative/Deputy Representative in Iran, Vietnam and Guatemala as well as Deputy Executive Director of the German Committee for UNICEF. He also served as Senior Advisor on Youth and Human Rights for the German Agency for Development Cooperation GIZ.
He initiated his professional career in the private sector, in the trade fair business as well as in the film industry.
Mr. Salazar Volkmann has obtained a PhD in Political Sciences at Marburg University and an M.A. in Communications, Economics and Philosophy at the Ruhr-University Bochum. He has been invited as Research Fellow by Harvard Law School and held guest lectures at The New School University and at New York University. He has published research on development and human rights in numerous academic magazines.