She has also served in the African Union with the UNHCR Liaison Office to the African Union in Ethiopia. Previously, she held the position of Senior Protection Cluster Coordinator in South Sudan, Head of Office in Cape Town, South Africa, Senior Protection Officer in India, Senior Regional Gender Based Advisor for the Syrian refugee crisis. She has started her UNHCR career in 1997 in Thailand, working with refugees from Cambodia and Myanmar, and has also served in Ghana, Sudan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Iraq in early 2000s.
Ms. Belani is a Malaysian national, who studied Law at the University of London. She speaks six languages.