Patrick Saez

Patrick Saez is a senior policy fellow on secondment from the UK’s Department for International Development where he serves as a Senior Humanitarian Adviser. His research focuses on the international response to humanitarian crises and reform of the international humanitarian system.

Over the past decade he has advised the UK Government on a range of humanitarian policy issues, including protection of civilians and forced displacement, leadership in the humanitarian system, cash transfers in crises, and risk-based financing as well as DFID’s engagement with key UN, Red Cross, and other non-governmental humanitarian organisations. He co-authored the UK’s Strategy on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict and authored the latest UK Humanitarian Reform Policy. He was DFID’s lead adviser on the Syria crisis from the onset of the crisis to 2015 and was responsible for DFID’s £135m core humanitarian funding to the UN. Most recently he led DFID’s initial response to the crisis in Venezuela and its impact on neighbouring countries.

Saez previously worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross where he headed the development of ICRC’s policy on the protection of civilians and served as delegate, protection co-ordinator and head of office in Colombia, Kosovo and Indonesia. He had previously worked with humanitarian NGOs in the Balkans, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.