Savita Pawnday is the Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. Established in 2008 with the support of international human rights leaders, including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as well as supportive governments and organizations such as Human Rights Watch and International Crisis Group, the Global Centre is the world’s leading research and advocacy organization for advancing the international norm of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) at the United Nations and beyond. The Global Centre works to prevent mass atrocity crimes – genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing – throughout the world.

Ms. Pawnday is a foremost expert on R2P and atrocity prevention. Over the last decade, she has worked extensively with and advised a wide range of governments and the United Nations on how to prevent and respond to mass atrocities. Ms. Pawnday has routinely convened Foreign Ministers and other high level policy makers on R2P to mobilize action to protect populations from atrocity crimes. In 2010, Ms. Pawnday was instrumental in conceptualizing and launching the Global Network of R2P Focal Points. Now with over 60 countries, the Global Network of R2P Focal Points is the largest network of senior government officials of its kind. She is also a founding Steering Group member of the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC).

Ms. Pawnday has led Global Centre’s work on UN peacekeeping, international justice mechanisms, Women, Peace and Security, and advocacy on specific country situations where populations are at risk of atrocities, such as Syria, Myanmar, South Sudan, Yemen and Ethiopia. She has written and published extensively on R2P and atrocity prevention. Ms. Pawnday is regularly invited by governments, the United Nations, NGOs, academic institutions, and other international multilateral organizations from around the globe to speak on R2P.

Prior to joining the Global Centre, Ms. Pawnday worked in various capacities as a researcher and a project manager. She has worked in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi with Catholic Relief Services, in New York with Trickle Up and in India with a few grassroots NGOs. She holds an M.A. from Fordham University in political economy and development, with a specialization in political economy of civil wars, and a B.A. in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, University of Mumbai.

Jaclyn Streitfeld-Hall is the Director of Policy and Research for the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. In this role she has led the development of the Global Centre’s signature publications, R2P Monitor and Atrocity Alert, which assess the risk of mass atrocities in countries around the world. Jaclyn has facilitated the Global Centre’s work on Peacekeeping and Civilian Protection, Women Peace and Security, and other programmatic areas and has helped create and deliver the Global Centre’s training programs. She is currently the host of the Global Centre’s podcast, Expert Voices in Atrocity Prevention. Over the past decade she has also conducted research and advocacy on populations at risk of mass atrocities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, West Africa and Nagorno-Karabakh. Prior to joining the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, she was a Research Assistant at the Cline Center for Democracy and taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Sarah Hunter is the Senior Research and Advocacy Officer and Communications Specialist at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. Sarah conducts research on populations at risk of mass atrocities, focusing on the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia), Libya, Myanmar (Burma) and Ukraine. Since joining the Global Centre in 2013 she has also conducted research on populations at risk in Egypt and the Philippines. She is also responsible for designing visual media and maintaining the Global Centre’s social media accounts. Sarah holds an MA in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University, where she concentrated on Human Rights Law and the Horn of Africa. She also holds a BS in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University, with a dual major in Modern Languages (Russian and French) and a certificate in Russian and Eastern European Studies.

Juliette Paauwe is a Senior Research and Advocacy Officer at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. She conducts research on and advocates for populations at risk of mass atrocities, focusing on Cameroon, Sudan and South Sudan. She leads the Global Centre’s work on Group of Friends on R2P in New York and is involved in the Centre’s work on UN peacekeeping, Protection of Civilians and international justice. Juliette also coordinates the internship program at the Global Centre.

She holds a BA and MA in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology from Leiden University, a BSc in Political Science from VU University Amsterdam and an MSc in International Security and Law from the University of Southern Denmark. Prior to joining the Global Centre she interned and worked for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Criminal Court. She is fluent in Dutch and English and has intermediate knowledge of French, German and Danish.

Elisabeth Pramendorfer is the Geneva Representative at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.

In her role, she focuses on strengthening linkages between the work of the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the implementation of R2P, including through the Centre’s country-specific advocacy and engagement with HRC-mandated investigative mechanisms, the Universal Periodic Review and Special Procedures, as well as wider Geneva programming. Elisabeth also leads the Centre’s research and advocacy for Latin America, including Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Elisabeth oversees the Global Centre’s work on the Group of Friends of R2P in Geneva and its engagement with the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC) network. She is also involved in the creation and delivery of the Global Centre’s training programs on atrocity prevention.

She holds an LLM in International Humanitarian Law from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a MA in Humanitarian Action from Sciences Po, Paris and a BA in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and King’s College London. She speaks English, German, French and Spanish.

Christine Caldera is a Research and Advocacy Officer at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect and the Coordinator for the NGO Working Group on the Security Council. She conducts research on the Central African Republic, Central Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) and Haiti. She also edits the Global Centre’s publications, including R2P Monitor and Atrocity Alert.

Christine holds a BA in Human Rights Studies, Spanish and Political Science from the University of Dayton, an MA in International Human Rights, and certificates in International Law and International Legal Research from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and Sturm College of Law, University of Denver. Prior to joining the Global Centre, Christine worked at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures, and the Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center. Christine has working knowledge of Spanish.

Amira Rajasingham is a Research and Advocacy Officer at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. She conducts research on populations at risk of mass atrocities in Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria and Yemen.

She holds an Advanced LLM in Public International Law from Leiden University, an MAS in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and a BA from New York University. Prior to joining the Global Centre, she worked on issues ranging from equal nationality rights and transitional justice, to shrinking civic space and justice and accountability in the Southeast Asia and MENA regions.

Julia Saltzman is a Program Associate at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect and the Coordinator of the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect. She provides administrative support for Global Centre events and in-person programming as well as other operational duties. Julia also acts as liaison between the Global Centre and the membership of the Global Network of R2P Focal Points. She conducts research on populations at risk of mass atrocities in Afghanistan, China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

She holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Law, an MPA and a certificate in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention from Binghamton University. Prior to joining the Global Centre she served as Community Outreach Coordinator at the LGBTQ+ Center at Binghamton University and interned at the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities.

Priscila Vazquez is a Program Associate at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. In this role, she provides operational support to all Geneva-related projects and activities alongside the Geneva Representative, including advocacy, events, trainings and grant preparation. She also conducts research on populations at risk of mass atrocities in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which includes contributing to the Centre’s main publications, the R2P Monitor and Atrocity Alert.

Priscila is a Brazilian lawyer with an MA in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute for Development and International Studies in Geneva. Prior to joining the Global Centre, she worked for a number of organizations focusing on human rights, the environment and social justice in Brazil and Switzerland, including the Oak Foundation, UNESCO liaison office in Geneva, a for-impact venture studio, Fairtrade Max Havelaar, Centre for Justice and International Law, the Public Defender’s Office of Rio de Janeiro, the Human Rights Clinic of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio and a Brazilian law firm.

She is fluent in Portuguese and English and has intermediate knowledge of Spanish.

Dr. Eli Karetny manages the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect’s grants and financial accounts. After receiving a JD/MBA from Temple University, Eli joined the Peace Corps and served in Ukraine, which is where his parents are from. Eli has an MA in International Relations from New York University and a PhD in Political Science from the CUNY Graduate Center. He teaches political theory and international relations at Baruch College-CUNY.

Arahana Yadav is a Research Intern at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Transnational Security and Peacebuilding, with specializations in Data Analytics and Global Risk, at the NYU SPS Center for Global Affairs. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Political Science, and Sociology, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in International Affairs and Diplomacy. Prior to her studies at NYU, Arahana worked as a Research Fellow in the Office of a Member of Parliament in New Delhi, India.