Our Team in Uruguay

Pablo Ruiz Hiebra has worked for more than 20 years on governance and post-crisis recovery issues at the United Nations. He was Director of UNDP in Colombia (2017-2019), from where he contributed to the implementation of the Peace Agreement, collaborating closely with the parties to the conflict. Previously, from the UNDP Regional Centre in Panama, he led technical assistance to 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean on governance and peacebuilding. He holds a PhD in International Economics and Development, a bachelor’s degree in law and a bachelor’s degree in Community Law.

Alberto Pacheco has served since 2019 as Special Assistant to the UN Under-Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNEP. Between 2015 and 2019 he worked at the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, as focal point for Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and Coordinator of the Regional Sub program on Biodiversity and Ecosystems. In these roles, he led the support to member states in the development and implementation of policies to integrate biodiversity and ecosystems into national development planning and productive sectors, as well as the implementation of commitments under the MEAs related to biodiversity. Mr. Pacheco Capella has held several positions at UNEP, including Regional Seas Program Coordinator. He also worked at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources as a Policy Advisor on trade and environment, and in the private sector, in institutional and corporate banking. He holds a master’s degree in environmental science from Lund University in Sweden, a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from the Metropolitan University of Venezuela, and additional studies from the London School of Economics, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Copenhagen Business School.

Alfonso Fernández de Castro has more than 20 years of experience in development cooperation at the United Nations. He was UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Paraguay from 2018 to 2022. Previously, he served as Head of Business Solutions and Operations at the Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean from 2014 to 2018. Previously, he was appointed Advisor to the Strategy and Policy Unit of the UNDP Office of Management in New York. He joined UNDP in 2002. Fernández de Castro holds a degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management (Cambridge, Massachusetts).

Candice Welsch served as Deputy Director of UNODC's Division of Operations in Vienna. He also headed the section of the Corruption and Economic Crimes Branch and was part of the Justice Section and Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch, where she provided assistance in addressing trafficking in persons and international cooperation in criminal justice. Prior to joining UNODC, Ms. Welsch was a Senior Legal Officer at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone and a Federal Prosecutor at the Canadian Department of Justice, where she prosecuted organized crime cases, addressed immigration and human rights issues, and was responsible for extradition and mutual legal assistance at the central authority. Ms. Welsch holds a master’s in international criminal justice (University of London), a Master of International Law (Aix-Marseille Université) and a Juris Doctor with a degree in Civil Law (McGill University). Ms. Welsch also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (Queen's University).

Specialist in science diplomacy and science, technology, and innovation policies. In his 20 years at UNESCO Mr. Fernández Polcuch was Representative in Peru, Head of Science Policy and Partnerships in the Natural Sciences Sector and Program Specialist in Montevideo, Windhoek and at the Institute of Statistics in Montreal.

Fabio Bertranou holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the National University of Cuyo. His areas of expertise are labor market, social protection, social security, and pensions. He has been with the ILO since 2001 and has been Director of the ILO Office for the Southern Cone of Latin America since 2015.

Mr. Barbieri is the UNOPS Senior Regional Legal Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean and previously served as UNOPS Director and Representative in Mexico and Peru. He is Brazilian, holds a law degree and a master’s degree in public international law from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Fernando Filgueira was Assistant Representative from October 2010 to April 2013 at UNFPA Uruguay. He supported and advised other offices in Latin America after leaving his position as Representative Assistant. He has also worked on Social Protection, Gender Equality and Population studies for different UN agencies at national, regional, and global levels and has advised governments in the region in these areas. He was professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of the Republic in Uruguay and principal investigator at CIPPEC (Argentina) and CIESU (Uruguay).

Francisco Benavides is Representative of UNICEF Uruguay since April 2022. Previously, he served as UNICEF's Regional Education Advisor for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and for Latin America and the Caribbean. For more than 8 years he was an Education Policy Analyst in the Education and Skills Directorate of the OECD. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in political science with a specialization in Development Policy and Peace Studies from Sciences Po, France.

Jan Jarab has been the Representative for South America of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) since 2019. Previously, he was Representative of the OHCHR in Mexico (2016-2019) and the Regional Office in Europe (2010-2016). Jarab also served at the European Commission in Brussels and in various human rights positions in the Czech Republic.

Ms. Sakhr holds a master’s degree in public international law from the Faculty of Law of the Institut Supérieure de la Sagesse pour l'Enseignement de Droit de El Líbano, having previously obtained a bachelor’s degree in law from the Faculty of Law, Political and Administrative Sciences of the Université Libanaise. Ms. Sakhr has worked at UNHCR for more than 17 years. In August 2022, she was appointed by the High Commissioner as Regional Representative for Southern Latin America based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, covering refugee issues in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Prior to taking up her current position in December 2022, Ms. Sakhr worked in UNHCR operations in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, most recently as UNHCR's Chief of Mission a.i. in Tripoli, Libya, Senior Situational Coordinator at the Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa in Amman, Jordan. Previously, she worked at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in UNHCR offices in Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan and Côte d'Ivoire.

Lucila Pizzarulli is IOM Uruguay's Ad Interim Office Chief. Her academic background includes studies in Sociology, with academic and work orientation in popular and informal economy. At IOM, she has led Protection issues; Resettlement; Knowledge and information management; Labor migration and development.

Magdalena Furtado worked between 2004 and 2014 at UNFPA. Previously, she carried out consultancies and research for different United Nations organizations and worked in public organizations in Uruguay such as National Institute of Statistics, and the National Administration of Public Education. In the academic field, she was a professor of Statistics and National Economics at Economic Sciences College of the Universidad de la República (Uruguay) as well as a researcher at different institutes.

Manuel Albaladejo has been the representative of the UNIDO Regional Office for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay since 2017. With more than 20 years of experience, Manuel has led cooperation and research projects on industrial policy, trade competitiveness, circular economy, and industry 4.0. He worked as an academic at the University of Oxford (Queen Elizabeth House).