KATHMANDU: The newly-appointed UNHCR Representative to Nepal, Carolin Spannuth Verma, presented her Letter of Credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

Spannuth Verma, a German national, arrived in Kathmandu on September 15 to take up her new assignment as UNHCR Representative in Nepal.

Upon resuming Office, Verma said “The government and people of Nepal have an impressive tradition of protecting those who are forced to flee persecution. The generosity of Nepal is acknowledged by the international community, especially in light of its own challenges of resources.”

She added that she looks forward to advancing with the government and other UNHCR partners this important agenda in a spirit of collaboration, law and compassion.

Verma’s journey of serving the cause of refugee protection through UNHCR has now spanned almost 25 years.

She has served in various international protection and legal positions in Morocco, Malaysia, Indonesia, Republic of Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria and at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva in the Division of International Protection, Asia and Africa Bureaus.

During her service with UNHCR, her thematic focus has included but was not limited to International Refugee Protection, Resettlement, Integration, Voluntary Repatriation, Refugee Status Determination, International Humanitarian Law, Protection of Civilians, Child protection, Gender issues, LGBTIQ inclusion, Capacity Development, Refugee Law Training and Staff Welfare.

She practiced law in the courts of Hamburg, Lübeck and Schwerin in Germany before taking her expertise to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York.

She attained her higher and post-graduate Law Degree from the University of Freiburg and Hamburg, Germany and in 1995 obtained her license to practice as a Judge in Germany.