Biography

Gopal Mitra

Global Lead on Disability and Development

Gopal Mitra, Global Lead on Disability and Development

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Gopal Mitra assumed the position of Global Lead on Disability and Development in Programme Group, New York Headquarters, in December 2022. He provides strategic and technical leadership to deliver on UNICEF’s global commitments on disability inclusion across the organization.

Before assuming his current position, Mr. Mitra was a Senior Social Affairs Officer in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG), where he led the Disability Inclusion Team that was established after the launch of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) by the Secretary-General in June 2019. His role in the EOSG involved setting up the UNDIS implementing and monitoring mechanism and working with UN entities and country teams on coordinated implementation of the Strategy across all UN Pillars in both programmes and operations.

Mr. Mitra joined UNICEF’s Disability Section in 2012, and for seven years, he led the work in disability policy, disability-inclusive humanitarian action, and accessibility and assistive technology. He supported UNICEF country office in different regions to mainstream disability inclusion both in development and humanitarian contexts. He co-chaired the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Team, which developed the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. He has also held various posts at the international NGO Leonard Cheshire Disability at headquarters and in the South Asia region.

Mr. Mitra started his professional career in the Indian Army where, as a Major, he was involved in crisis and post-disaster response. Following an injury from an explosion, he became blind in 2000.

He holds an MA in social work, specializing in social work administration, from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India, and an MSc in development management from the London School of Economics (LSE) in the UK.

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