Dr. Rinchen Chophel has been selected to the position of the Director General for the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) Secretariat.
SAIEVAC was established as an outcome of the regional consultation on the UN Study on Violence against Children, which took place in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2005. SAIEVAC consists of representatives from the Governments of the eight South Asia countries, representatives of Civil Society Organisations and Children and has its Secretariat in Kathmandu, Nepal. The activities of SAIEVAC are guided by a 5-year workplan and supported by the South Asia Coordinating Group on Actions against Violence against Women and Children (SACG).
Dr. Rinchen Chophel is a medical doctor by profession with an advanced degree in Human Rights, a PHD Fellow in Human Rights and a Post Graduate Fellow in International Humanitarian Law. Chophel has until very recently held the position of the Executive Director of the National Commission for Women and Children, The Royal Government of Bhutan, and has championed the promotion and protection of the rights of women and children with distinction. At the regional level he is a well known and highly regarded expert on gender and human rights and supported many agencies including the SAARC Secretariat in many key regional projects and initiatives. He has extensive experience in working with the Ministries of Women and Children of the Government’s in South Asia as well as with the UN, INGO, NGO and research organisations in the SAARC Region.
Dr. Rinchen Chophel is also one of the founding members of the South Asia Forum for Ending Violence Against Children (SAF) – now SAIEVAC and also the principal architect and advocate of SAIEVAC in the last six years.
The selection of the Director General is with immediate effect from December 19, 2010.