The United Nations (UN) has appointed Kenyan activist Alice Wairimu Nderitu as Special Adviser on the prevention of genocide.
Her appointment was announced on Tuesday by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“Ms. Nderitu has been a recognized voice in the field of peacebuilding and violence prevention, having led as a mediator and senior adviser in reconciliation processes among communities in her country, Kenya, as well as in other African settings,” Guterres said in a statement.
She takes over from Senegal’s Adama Dieng, who has served in the position since 2012.
Ms. Nderitu is a former commissioner of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) in Kenya and a founding member of the Uwiano Platform for Peace.
She is also the founder of Community Voices for Peace and Pluralism, a network of African female professionals preventing, transforming, and solving violent, ethnic, racial, and religious conflicts around the world.
Ms. Nderitu has also previously served as the Director, Education for Social Justice at Fahamu, Head of Human Rights Education and Capacity-Building Programme for the Kenya National Human Rights Commission, and Researcher and Administrator, Kenya Prisons Services, Ministry of Home Affairs.
She is a member of the Kenya National Committee on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and all Forms of Discrimination, the African Union’s Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (Fem-Wise), and the Women Waging Peace Network. She is also a Transitional Justice Fellow, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in South Africa.
Ms. Nderitu holds a master of Armed Conflict and Peace Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts, Literature and Philosophy from the University of Nairobi.
She is widely published and has multiple awards recognizing her efforts in the peaceful resolution of conflicts across Africa and an innovative approach to mediation.
Never heard of her or many…
Never heard of her or many of the organisations but I want her to prevent genocide where ever it migt occur in the world starting with here in africa.