United Nations

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) IN INDIA AND INDONESIA (1955-1965) 

In 1955, I started working for the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia in New Delhi, India. My work in WHO was appreciated, and in 1959 I was promoted and assigned to Indonesia as the Administrative Officer of the WHO Country Office in Jakarta.   This was my first experience of living in a foreign country, and initially I had some difficulties. However, I was still young and soon made many friends and also learned the Indonesian language, which made my life comfortable. Also, my work with the WHO was very interesting and exciting, as in those days the WHO was engaged in eradicating the diseases of smallpox and malaria from the world. I was enjoying my assignment in Indonesia but, unfortunately, in early 1965, there was a political revolution in Indonesia, and Indonesia decided to resign from its membership of the United Nations. The result of this decision was the closure of all United Nations projects in Indonesia and sudden departure of all UN staff from Indonesia.  Consequently, I returned to India and had to look for another assignment.

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (UNDP) IN INDIA (1965-1968)

On return to India, I was lucky to be selected by another UN Agency, UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (UNDP), and in 1965 I was assigned as Administrative Officer in the UNDP Country Office for India in New Delhi. My duties were initially to help and support the UNDP Projects in Oil Exploration located in Dehra Dun, and, later on, to be responsible for the administration of the UNDP Country Office In India.  I worked for the UNDP in India until June 1970, and then left for Indonesia to take up another assignment with the United Nations,

UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL PROGRAM IN WEST PAPUA IN INDONESIA (1970-1975)

After freedom from Netherlands, the area then called West Irian on the Island of New Guinea, (currently referred to as “West Papua”), was taken over by Indonesia. By that time, Indonesia had rejoined the United Nations.  As the area of West Papua was completely undeveloped, the United Nations established a special program for the development of that area, and many projects were initiated. In 1970, I was selected and assigned as the Administrative Officer for one of the UN Projects in West Papua related to the development of Coastal and Sea Transportation in the area.

My assignment was primarily to coordinate the activities of the several experts assigned to the project. It was a tough assignment and the daily living conditions in West Papua were very hard, but the work was really exciting as the projects were involved in the construction of new ports and harbors, and buying small coasters to operate between different ports in the remote area.  I worked in West Papua for a period of five years until the completion of the project in December 1975. 

UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY (UNU) IN TOKYO, JAPAN (1976-1996)

Upon completion of the project in West Papua, before returning to India, I visited the United Nations Headquarters in New York to report on the results of the project. There I was given the good news that as my work for the United Nations project in West Papua was much appreciated, I was selected for assignment to work with the newly established United Nations University (UNU) in Tokyo, Japan. Thus I arrived in Tokyo in February 1976 and started working as the Director of Administration at the headquarters of the UNU in Tokyo, which was the first United Nations institution to be established in Japan. The work was really challenging and exciting. I continued to work with the U.N. University in Tokyo for 20 years in different positions, and finally, in 1996, retired as the Executive Officer in the Office of the Rector of the University.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES AFTER RETIREMENT

After retirement from the United Nations University, I decided to stay on in Japan because I had received many attractive offers to teach at prestigious universities in Japan. I taught courses on International Relations at Chiba University, Kokushikan University and for ten years at Keio University in Tokyo.

Also, for the last 20 years, I have been serving as the Coordinator in Japan of “The Energy and Resources Institute” (TERI), the well-known Indian research institution, and helping in the promotion of India-Japan collaboration in the areas of energy, environment and sustainable development (website: www.teriin.org). This assignment brought me in close contact with the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and several other institutions in Japan.

I have had the honor of serving as a member of the Selection Committee for the “Earth Hall of Fame Kyoto”, an award given by the Prefecture of Kyoto, Japan, to honor the achievements of those who have contributed to conservation of the global environment.

I also undertook other assignments, including: (1) A semester as Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, USA, and later served as the Resident Director of the University’s Study Abroad Program in Latvia; (2) A semester as Visiting Professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, USA; (3) On two occasions, served as Adviser/Lecturer on board the “Ship for World Youth” (SWY), which involved travel to several countries, accompanied by 300 participating youth coming from Japan and other countries. The SWY Program is sponsored by the Government of Japan to promote cultural contacts between the world youth; and (4) served as the Director of the Tokyo Centre of the IES Study Abroad Program in Japan for students coming from American universities to learn about Japanese language and culture.

Dr. Rabinder Malik CV