2012

Doing good in tough places: working in human rights, peace building, humanitarian aid and development

The CGHR Practitioner series aims to allow students to listen and speak to a selection of high-level experts working in the various fields related to development and humanitarian aid, and address key issues and questions. The seminars are designed to equip students with an in-depth and critical look at what each area involves; the type of work carried out, contingent challenges and essential competencies.

Read more about the series.

1st February: Tom Porteous, Human Rights Watch ­‐ Deputy Program Director

Tom Porteous is the deputy program director at Human Rights Watch and is based in Washington DC. He joined Human Rights Watch in 2006 as the London director responsible for communications and advocacy in the United Kingdom. Porteous has a background in journalism, diplomacy, and UN peacekeeping. In the 1980s and early 1990s he was a freelance correspondent for the Guardian newspaper, the BBC, and other media, first in Cairo and later in Berlin, Algeria, and Morocco. He worked in UN peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Liberia. He also served as conflict management adviser for Africa in the UK's Foreign Office from 2001 to 2003. Porteous studied classics at Oxford University.

15th February: Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International, Director of the Asia­‐Pacific Programme

Sam Zarifi leads on providing strategic and political advice for Amnesty International’s work in the Asia-­‐Pacific region. Managing a programme of more than 30 people, he is responsible for Amnesty International’s research, campaigning and crisis response in the region. Before joining Amnesty International, Sam Zarifi held senior posts at Human Rights Watch for eight years, where he served as the Asia Deputy Director and later as the Washington Advocate, covering the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He has conducted emergency research missions to Afghanistan, Iraq and Nepal, and has worked on human rights issues across Asia, including China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.

29th February: Sorcha O'Callaghan, British Red Cross, Head of Humanitarian Policy

Sorcha O’Callaghan is the Head of Humanitarian Policy at the British Red Cross. She works on a range of different issues including humanitarian principles, civil military relations, resilience and accountability. Sorcha previously worked as Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute. She led the Humanitarian Policy Group’s work on protection of civilians and published on protection, livelihoods and humanitarian principles. She previously worked on and in Sudan, where she coordinated the Sudan Advocacy Coalition, a consortium involving Care, Christian Aid, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK, Tearfund. With a background in law, Sorcha previously worked in the refugee and asylum sector in Ireland.

14th March: Rebecca Dale, UK Department for International Development, Senior Conflict Advisor

Rebecca Dale is Senior Conflict Advisor at the UK Department for International Development for the Middle East and North Africa. She has been a conflict advisor at DFID since 2007 and prior to this was policy advisor at the humanitarian NGO, International Rescue Committee, in Sudan. She has worked for the United Nations as Special Assistant to the Resident Coordinator in Rwanda and with Oxfam, seconded to the Rwandan Ministry of Rehabilitation. Rebecca studied PPE in Oxford and holds a Masters degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.