UNHCR welcomes Laura Lo Castro as new Representative in Greece
UNHCR welcomes Laura Lo Castro as new Representative in Greece
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is pleased to announce that Laura Lo Castro has assumed her duties as UNHCR Representative in Greece, effective beginning December 2025. She succeeds Maria Clara Martin, who served as UNHCR Representative in Greece for the past four years.
Ms. Lo Castro brings more than 35 years of humanitarian experience to her new role, including 32 years with UNHCR, in progressively senior positions across diverse and challenging operational contexts. She has served in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, West Timor, Zambia, Switzerland and most recently as UNHCR Representative in N’Djamena, Chad, where she led the emergency response amidst the ongoing Sudan conflict.
Since taking up her post in Greece, Ms. Lo Castro has visited facilities for asylum-seekers in Malakasa and Ritsona in Attica, as well as sites on the islands of Lesvos and Crete, meeting with refugees, partners and local authorities. She has also held introductory meetings with the Minister of Asylum and Migration and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss key protection priorities and areas of strengthened cooperation.
Ms Lo Castro at the border town of Adre in Chad meets with Sudanese refugees arriving with almost no belongings. May 2024.
Ms. Lo Castro meets with asylum-seekers in Greece.
“I am honoured to take up my new role as UNHCR Representative in Greece,” said Ms. Lo Castro. “Greece has a longstanding history of welcoming people forced to flee, and I look forward to working closely with the Greek authorities, municipalities, civil society, international and European organizations, as well as refugee communities to strengthen protection and support long-term solutions for the men, women and children who have sought safety here.”
“The experiences I have gained throughout my years with UNHCR have strengthened my commitment to humanitarian action guided by deep feelings of compassion, respect, solidarity and search for solutions, building on the capacities and aspirations of refugees and host communities, particularly at a time when rising global humanitarian needs are confronted by unprecedented funding constraints”, added Ms. Lo Castro.
UNHCR has been present in Greece since 1952 and continues to work closely with the Greek authorities, municipalities, civil society, international and national partners, as well as refugee communities, advising on protection standards and supporting asylum-seekers and refugees with information, legal assistance and efforts to promote self-reliance and integration.