This event is co-hosted by the United Nations Association of New York, the Columbia University Club of New York, the Columbia University Club Foundation and the Penn Club of New York.
H.E. Ambassador Adela Raz
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations
6:00 to 6:30 p.m. | Registration
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Program with Q+A
7:30 to 8:00 p.m. | Reception
Penn Club of New York
30 West 44th Street
New York, New York 10036
ADMISSION
UNA Members: FREE
Guests and Non-Members: $15
All Students attend for FREE
Ambassador Adela Raz is the first woman to serve as Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations. That alone would be a historical landmark. She is also among the youngest members of the ambassadorial corps at the UN (born in 1986). With almost two-thirds of the population under 25-years old, Afghanistan today is a surprisingly young country, and one in which the nation’s conflicts has produced a resilient outlook of vigilance, hope and an increasing turn towards peacemaking among its young people.
“It is a new Afghanistan when we, the younger generation, stand together to preserve our achievements and work for the betterment of this country,” Ambassador Raz says. “Despite all that has gone wrong in Afghanistan and all the challenges we have, one thing that has gone right is that compared to the youth in the region the young people of Afghanistan are more aware, more critical of war and more pro-peace. For us, conflict is not acceptable. Conflict has seriously delayed our country’s development. Conflict is personal. We understand how brutal it is. Every family has paid the price of losing family members.”
Just 15 years ago she was a first-year student entering university. After many years of risk-taking to pursue her own education in unofficial home schools operating secretly because of the Taliban’s restrictive policies, Ambassador Raz was the first person in her family to study in the United States, when she was offered a scholarship under the auspices of the Initiative to Educate Afghan Women (IEAW) at Simmons College in Boston. Initially struggling with higher level lectures and complex textbooks in English, she was nonetheless determined to succeed, and in four years she graduated with honors and a triple major in international relations, political science and economics.
Afterwards, she balanced her initial professional experiences in the U.S. by returning home in regular visits to Afghanistan each summer, to work for the UN or the American embassy. At that time many of the international organizations and government ministries in Afghanistan sought to encourage and facilitate the participation of women in that country’s political, economic and social development.
In 2013, Ambassador Raz was appointed by then President Hamid Karzai as the first female Deputy Spokesperson and Director of Communications for the Office of the President. She has since worked her way through various administrative and ministerial positions, representing Afghanistan in a wide variety of international conferences, played a leading role in negotiating economic cooperation among Afghan regions, and has assisted in the current modernization of her country in areas of communication and commerce with the greater Central and South Asia region.
In mastering the complexities of peacemaking against the context of her nation’s conflicted history, her successful commitment in government and diplomacy demonstrates a diligence, skill and visionary energy inspiring to all Afghan women.
In honor of International Women’s Day, please join the members of the UNA-NYC, the Penn Club of New York, and the Columbia University Club of New York for a presentation by the remarkable Ambassador Adela Raz, highlighting the current prospects of women in an Afghanistan that successfully weaves tradition and development while meeting the geopolitical challenges facing its people today.
H.E. AMBASSADOR ADELA RAZ
H.E. Ambassador Adela Raz holds an MA degree in Law and Diplomacy with a focus on Economic Development from the Fletcher School/Tufts University and a BA with honors with triple majors in International Relations, Political Science, and Economics from Simmons College in Boston, USA. She also holds a certificate in International Development from the Fletcher School/Tufts University.
Ambassador Raz possesses 11 years of extensive experience in the fields of political and economic analysis, policy development, media and communication and governance, with various governmental and non-governmental, local and international organizations.
She started her career with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in 2002 and headed to the United States in 2004 to pursue her higher education. From 2010 to early 2013, Mrs. Raz worked with an international development organization in the United States, with projects focused on Afghanistan and Central Asia.
In 2013, Ambassador Raz was appointed as the first female Deputy Spokesperson and Director of Communications for the President. She moved into a new position as the Chief of Staff at the Administrative Office of the President in November 2014, and in March 2016, she was appointed as Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation at Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As Deputy Foreign Minister, Mrs. Raz has represented Afghanistan in various multilateral conferences and fora. Among other bilateral and multilateral responsibilities, she was leading the two major Afghanistan centered regional cooperation platforms – the Regional Economic Cooperation Conferences on Afghanistan (RECCA) and the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA-IP). Some major tasks under her leadership and portfolio are leading the negotiation and finalization of the declarations of RECCA, HoA-IP and the Geneva Conferences on Afghanistan; leading the negotiation and signing process of the Lapis Lazuli Route Agreement, and inclusion of Women’s Economic Empowerment component as a new initiative under RECCA.
Other notable works of Mrs. Raz in Afghanistan includes completing an assessment of Afghanistan’s Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) law. Mrs. Raz liaised with the government, UN agencies, and NGOs to create baseline data on the human rights, political and development situations and gender equality. Also she co-authored a study about “Public Private Cooperation in Fragile States.”
Ambassador Raz is married and has a daughter.
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