Chavia Ali

Regional Focal Point for Persons with Disability, UNDP RBAS

Chavia Ali has worked for the past twenty years as an advocate for human rights and disability rights in the Arab region and the world. She holds a Master degree in International Human Rights Law from Lund University and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights in Sweden and a Bachelor degree in law from the University of Aleppo, Syria.

In Syria, she founded the Cultural Forum for Persons with Special Needs and supported the mission of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Arab region. Since coming to Sweden, she has worked on projects supporting refugees and newcomers, and served as expert in several reference groups. Since 2020, Chavia has been working with the Persons with Disabilities portfolio for UNDP’s Regional Bureau of Arab States and has been serving as the Regional Focal Point for this portfolio.