Fernando Flores will discuss his experiences working in various UNHCR offices in Africa and throughout Latin America.

Mr. Flores has worked for UNHRC since 2014. From September 2017 through November 2018, he served as Associate Programme Officer for the Field Office in Dundo, Angola, providing operations, budgeting and programme support in the establishment of emergency settlements for 30,000 Congolese refugees. From December 2018 to June 2019, he served as Programme Officer in Tapachula, Mexico in support of the Sub Office during the continuation of the Northern Triangle Caravan Crisis. From September of 2019 to February 2021, Mr. Flores was assigned as Programme Officer and Head of Unit in Cúcuta, Colombia. On the frontline of the Venezuelan Refugee crisis, Cúcuta is the main entry point for the millions of Venezuelans fleeing that country. In March 2021, Mr. Flores will take up the role of Head of the Lago Agrio Field Office of UNHRC, on the Ecuador-Colombian border. Traditionally a host of Colombians displaced after years of armed conflict, the Field Office has recently seen an increase in survivors of the Venezuelan Situation.

Mr. Flores has extensive professional experience in international work. From 2000 to 2014, Mr. Flores worked at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Washington, D.C office as a Research Associate. While at ECLAC from 2000 to 2005 he served as the Tripartite Coordinator and Assistant to the Chair of the Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil Society of the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations. From May 2014 through August 2016, he served as a Programme Associate for Regional Private Sector Partnerships (PSP), providing program and operational support to all the units, establishing and maintaining partner agreements, budget preparation, monitoring and evaluation of activities and coordinated the delivery of direct assistance to persons of concern in the Caribbean. From August 2016 to August 2017, he served as an Administrative Associate supporting the PSP Officer covering the Americas. He provided back-end operations support to offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States and served as a liaison between the region and PSP headquarters in Copenhagen.

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