Christopher Rassi, based in Geneva, Switzerland, began his role as IFRC Chief of Staff and Director of the Office of the Secretary General in 2020. The Chief of Staff ensures the Secretary General can effectively discharge his statutory duties and key responsibilities at all times. Christopher serves on the five-person Senior Leadership Team. As part of this role, he leads the organization’s areas of work related to Strategy and People, and is the IFRC’s designated Safeguarding Champion.

Christopher has worked in various roles with the IFRC in different locations, most recently in Southeast Asia as Head of Delegation based in Bangkok, Thailand and as the IFRC’s Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific.

Before joining the IFRC, Christopher practiced as a lawyer within the United Nations and in private practice, including at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and with the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in The Hague, Netherlands and Arusha, Tanzania. He was also a foreign law clerk at the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Johannesburg.

Christopher is a frequent speaker and lecturer at global events and universities around the world. He serves on several boards, including the Board of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, the Board of the Jean-Pictet Competition in International Humanitarian Law, and the Dean’s Cabinet for Global Legal Studies at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.