New Representative for UNHCR Ukraine has taken up her position

On 7 October, Ms. Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine to take up her role as UNHCR’s Representative in Ukraine. Later this week, she will be presenting her credentials to Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Ms. Mariana Betsa.

Ms. Castel Hollingsworth joins UNHCR’s Ukraine operation with more than 25 years of extensive experience from the organization, including serving in emergencies and field operations across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Most recently, she served as UNHCR’s Deputy Director in the Division for International Protection in the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland since 2019.

“I am honored and humbled to take up this role and begin my journey with UNHCR in Ukraine. As the war continues with displacement, destruction and despair in its wake, the need for joint action and a coordinated response is key, and I am committed to continue the strong partnerships that UNHCR has long enjoyed with the Ukrainian government, authorities, civil society, communities and international donors,” says Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth.

“I am looking forward to soon travel across the country to meet our field teams, partners and government counterparts as well as the people, we are here to support and assist. This close dialogue helps ensure that UNHCR remains agile and addresses the most pressing needs on the ground.”

She holds two Master of Arts degrees in Law – one in International Human Rights Law from Paris West Nanterre La Défense University, and another in International Humanitarian Aid, Emergency and Rehabilitation from Aix-Marseille University.

Ms. Castel-Hollingsworth succeeds Ms. Karolina Lindholm Billing, who finished her assignment in September 2025 after serving 4.5 years in the role.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been present in Ukraine since 1994, when the organization was primarily supporting the repatriation of Crimean Tatars who had been deported from their homeland during World War II. Later, UNHCR worked with the Government of Ukraine to build an asylum system to enable refugees from different countries to find safety and a new home in Ukraine.

The presence and work of UNHCR scaled up following the Russian Federation’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the war in Eastern Ukraine, and once again after Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.

Today, UNHCR has offices in five cities around Ukraine – Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa – and counts some 320 staff, with the majority being local Ukrainian staff. The organization delivers humanitarian assistance, protection services and contributes to the early recovery work in close coordination with the Ukrainian government and authorities and in partnership with NGO partners, other UN agencies and communities.