Patrick van Weerelt

Patrick van Weerelt (the Netherlands) took up his assignment as Head of Office of the UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development in October 2015. The Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development, based in Bonn, Germany, officially opened in March 2016 to respond to the comprehensive learning, training and knowledge management needs of UN staff and partners in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Patrick has extensive capacity development, policy and program experience in the field of sustainable development, democratic governance and human rights and has served at HQ, Regional and country level for the United Nations. Prior to joining the UN System Staff College in Turin in 2011, Patrick served as UNDP Practice Leader for Democratic Governance in West- and Central Africa (based in Dakar) covering 23 countries in the subregion, and as Senior Human Rights Adviser at UNDP HQ in New York. He began his UN career at UN OHCHR in Geneva following which he moved to UNDP in South Africa. Patrick is a lawyer by training and also served (from 2006-2009) as Adjunct Professor at Washington College of Law, American University, Washington D.C. He is married with two children.