BIO
Ms. Judy Cheng-Hopkins was appointed UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, based in New York, on 17 April 2009. Before taking up this position, Ms. Cheng-Hopkins had a long UN career spanning over 30 years covering development and humanitarian work in Africa and Asia, with a 10 year stint in the field in Africa.
Ms. Cheng-Hopkins was the UN’s Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees from February 2006 to August 2009. Previously, Ms. Cheng-Hopkins served as the Director of the World Food Programme’s Bureau for Asia and (later encompassing) Eastern Europe from 1997-2000. Prior to that, she served UNDP in Africa for 10 years, first in Zambia (1982-1988), then in Kenya (1988-1992).
From 2015 to 2018 she was Adjunct Prof, Columbia Univ School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). 2017 – Deputy, UN Joint Inspection Mechanism, Chemical Weapons Use in the Syrian Conflict. Ms. Cheng-Hopkins is involved in the set up of the Asian women’s leadership university in Malaysia.