2013

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.

23rd January: Joanna Oyediran, Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa

Joanna Oyediran is a programme manager for South Sudan and Sudan at the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA). OSIEA promotes citizens’ participation in governance in Eastern Africa, focusing its support on local groups. Joanna previously worked as a Senior Human Rights Officer with the United Nations (UN)/African Union (AU) Hybrid Operation in Darfur, Sudan and with the UN Mission in Sudan. She has also worked as a researcher for Amnesty International, where she researched and wrote reports on human rights Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Iraq. She has also served as a Human Rights Officer for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Gaza and as a consultant on Darfur for the Ford Foundation. She is a member of the Bar of England and Wales and holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex.

6th February: John Morrison, Executive Director of the Institute for Human Rights and Business

John Morrison has been Executive Director of the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) since April 2009. IHRB is a global ‘think and do’ tank based in London, Geneva, Brussels, Nairobi and Yangon and works impartially with governments, businesses, civil society and trade unions. The Institute’s Patron is Mary Robinson (the former President of Ireland) and Chairperson is Professor John Ruggie (former UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights). The Institute’s work includes thematic work on a number of issues (such as water, land, migrant workers, post-conflict), specific sectors (such as ICT , Oil and Gas, Mining, Infrastructure, Finance) and specific geographies including the European Union, Arctic, East Africa, Myanmar (Burma) and Colombia, The Institute works closely with processes in the UN, OECD , EU, World Bank Group and within a number of national jurisdictions. Previously, John was Director of the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR) from 2003-9 and Head of Global Campaigns and Community Affairs for The Body Shop International 1999-2003. He has been a Harkness Fellow to the USA (1996-7) and has written widely on business and human rights, as well as other human rights issues such as refugee policy, trafficking and forced labour. John was Deputy Co-ordinator of the UK Bosnia Programme between 1993-97 based with the British Refugee Council.

20th February: Gino Henry, Independent consultant in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

Gino Henry is a Chartered Engineer with an MSc in Irrigation Engineering. He is now an independent consultant based in Cambridge, principally involved in water supply and sanitation. He has worked in Albania, Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya, Kosovo, Liberia, Malawi, Macedonia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Peru, St Helena Island (South Atlantic), Syria & Venezuela, mostly on disaster relief assignments for a range of NGOs. Gino is a member of RedR (Registered Engineers for Disaster relief). He is also now involved in the training of young engineers and contributes to the ‘Community Water Supply and Sanitation’ MSc at Cranfield University and the ‘Master of Disaster Management’ programme at the University of Copenhagen as well as helping to run courses for EWB (Engineers without Borders) Cambridge and others.

6th March: Tom Ling, Head of Impact, Innovation and Evidence, Save the Children

Tom Ling is Head of Impact, Innovation and Evidence at Save the Children where his responsibilities include ensuring that evaluations contribute to policy and change in the challenging environment of International Development. He joined Save the Children in March 2012. He studied Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge University and completed a PhD in Government at Essex University. Prior to Save the Children, Tom spent eight years at RAND Europe, where he was Director for Evaluation and Performance Audit following four years as Senior Research Fellow at the National Audit Office in the UK. Before that he taught and researched in various Universities. He has over twenty years of experience in researching on and leading research projects and has worked on and led evaluation projects with the European Commission, UK Government departments, the National Audit Office, the Health Foundation in the UK and many others. He has published widely on evaluation, accountability and related topics. He recently co-edited Performance Audit: Contributing to Accountability in Democratic Government, following his Performance Audit Handbook and The Evidence Book, a critical examination of the use of evidence in public policy and service delivery. His roles outside Save the Children include a professorship (Emeritus) at Anglia Ruskin University, and an honorary senior visiting research fellowship, University of Cambridge.

29th May: Richard Moncrieff, Principal Analyst for Central Africa, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Richard Moncrieff is the Principal Analyst for Central Africa in the Africa Research Group in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He was previously the UK Chargé d’affaires in Abidjan and West Africa Director for International Crisis Group. Richard has published in various academic and media outlets on the politics of conflict and the search for stability in Africa and on the continent’s international relations.

22nd May: Mona Sadek, International Committee of the Red Cross

Mona Sadek is deputy head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission in the United Kingdom and Ireland. She engages with political, military and non-government contacts on a range of issues related to the ICRC ’s humanitarian work in armed conflict and other situations of violence. In 2011 Mona was deployed to Libya to lead the ICRC ’s protection operations there. Previously she was responsible for all programmes in Afghanistan involving protection of the civilian population, detention visits and the restoration of family links. She has also worked with the ICRC in Gaza, Liberia, Serbia, Montenegro and Jordan. She joined the ICRC in 2002 after completing an MA in human rights in London, having worked in the field of human rights in Cairo.