Cécile Mazzacurati heads the joint United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) / Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) Secretariat on Youth, Peace and Security, originally established to support the development of the Security Council-mandated Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security. Cécile is also the co-chair of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace & Security.

Cécile has worked for over 15 years at the United Nations on youth and gender in peacebuilding and humanitarian settings. Earlier in her career, Cécile worked on women’s rights, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS for different organizations including UNESCO and a Guatemalan human rights NGO. Cécile studied History at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in France and holds a Masters degree in History from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales.