From mid-August to mid-December 2011, 14 human rights activists will be in residence at Columbia University for the Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP). Started in 1989, the Program provides opportunities for proven grassroots leaders to strengthen their skills and to participate in dialogues on human rights issues with members of the academic, NGO, policymaking, and corporate communities. The Advocates bring a wealth of practical knowledge and a diversity of experiences, and are available as speakers, experts, and collaborators.
These bios are also available as a PDF document (1.2mb), as are the 2010 Participant Bios (1.1mb PDF) and 2009 Participant Bios (1mb PDF).
Abu Tunde Irunukhar
Program Manager, AIDS Alliance in Nigeria
Nigeria
Abu works as Program Manager at AIDS Alliance in Nigeria (AAN), a membership organization of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Abu provides strategic and programmatic support in the development and implementation of projects on gender and human rights, the participation of non-state actors in governance, the capacity building of AAN partner organizations across Nigeria to effectively mainstream gender and human rights in their HIV/AIDS interventions and the capacity building of civil society organizations and the media on participatory budgeting and health budget tracking and advocacy. He also works on AAN’s annual Civil Society/Legislative roundtable on health budget and HIV/AIDS funding in Lagos and Kaduna states. Abu earned his master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Lagos State University, is a member of the Nigeria Institute of Management and has completed a number of short courses and trainings in gender, human rights, advocacy and project management.
Lana Ackar
Co-President, Pravnik
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lana is the Co-President of an association of young lawyers known as Pravnik (Lawyer). She and her colleagues at Pravnik founded the International Summer School Sarajevo (ISSS) in 2006 in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation. ISSS has become one of the leading international summer schools in Southeast Europe. ISSS attracts young people from Europe, the USA and Asia who are interested in learning about human rights, the rule of law and transitional justice. Most recently, Pravnik established a partnership with the Sarajevo City Administration on the development of a local action plan on human rights.
Lana earned her bachelor’s degree in Law from the School of Law, University of Sarajevo. She is a gender studies graduate student at the University of Sarajevo Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies. Lana has attended a number of workshops and educational programs including the American Institute on Political and Economic Systems (Prague, Czech Republic) and the International Institute for Political and Economic Studies (Crete, Greece). Lana’s professional development has been enriched by her work in human rights and gender issues at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe-Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Huda Ali
Vice President, Gesr Center for Development
Sudan
Huda Ali is the Vice President of Gesr Center for Development (GCD), a youth-led human rights organization. She monitors the media and facilitates workshops on topics including human rights, gender mainstreaming, civic education and voter education for audiences including IDPs, university students and union workers. She also organizes discussions targeting the youth on topics such as their political and social interests, the political situation after the elections, language and violence and the state of democracy throughout Sudan.
Huda has published articles on various websites including “Youth of the Middle East” and in publications including Altayar newspaper and the BAKIR newsletter (Salmmah youth newsletter). She is a member of the various women’s rights networks including “No to Oppression of Women” and “Women’s Voices for Peace.” Huda earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Strategic Studies from Al-Zaiem Al-Azhary University in Khartoum.
Nadia Juliana Bazán Londoño
Grants Coordinator, Fondo de Acción Urgente de América Latina y el Caribe Hispanohablante
Colombia
Nadia Juliana Bazán Londoño joined the Urgent Action Fund of Latin America and the Spanish Speaking Caribbean for Women’s Human Rights (FAU-AL) when it was founded in July 2009. FAU-AL mobilizes resources to support women’s organizations and female human rights activists so they can implement activities that protect and promote their rights. Nadia received her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the Universidad de los Andes in 2002. Nadia has studied the theory of music with the Juvenile Symphonic Orchestra of Colombia, the French language both in France and through the French Ministry of Education in Colombia and social management at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. A conscientious objector to compulsory military service, she is committed to building a fair, non-violent and ethical world, which she wants to share with others.
Lydia Cherop
Assistant Program Officer, Teso Women Peace Activists
Uganda
Since November 2008, Lydia Cherop has been an Assistant Program Officer at Teso Women Peace Activists (TEWPA), a rural women’s organization located in the Teso sub-region of Uganda. At TEWPA, Lydia builds the capacity of survivors of sexual- and gender-based violence to facilitate their participation in Teso’s social, cultural, political and economic life. TEWPA’s activities include: documenting the violation of women’s rights; capacity building of women in conflict resolution, human rights and information and communication technologies; income generation for women through modern and diversified agriculture; and networking and advocacy for women’s rights. A former presenter and announcer at Kyoga Veritas Radio, she was recognized by the U.S. Embassy in Uganda for a documentary on female genital mutilation.
In 2010 with seed funding from Isis Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange, she organized a medical camp to conduct cancer screenings. Lydia has established and registered an organization called Women Integrated Initiative for Development that promotes and protects the rights of women and girls. She is currently working toward a bachelor’s degree from Uganda Martyrs University.
Colins Imoh
Project Director, Centre for Social Transformation and Human Development
Nigeria
Colins Imoh has been the Project Director at the Centre for Social Transformation and Human Development (CHDST) since 2005. CHDST is a non-profit organization dedicated to building a democratic society and a culture of peace in Nigeria. He is responsible for planning and coordinating a project called “the Protect our Future Peace & Civic Education Project,” which raises awareness about human rights and social justice through capacity building workshops. He also coordinates the Vision Nigeria Radio Programme, which is a weekly live radio program on democracy, good governance, peace and development. He manages the Traditional Conflict Prevention and Management project in the Niger Delta, which builds the capacity of community leaders as agents of transformation within their communities by strengthening the traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution.
He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Production Engineering from Enugu State University in 2000 and his master’s degree in Environmental Management from University of Cape Town in 2006. He also obtained a University Diploma in Town Planning from Rivers State University of Science and Technology and his certificate on Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict from The Fletcher School of Tufts University.
Hasina Khan
Secretary-General, Awaaz-e-Niswaan (Voice of Women)
India
Hasina Khan is recognized as one of India’s most visible, courageous and effective activists around women’s rights in India with a particular focus on the rights of Muslim women. She is an active member of Awaaz-e-Niswaan, an organization that empowers Muslim women in Mumbai to make their voices heard and demand their rights. The organization is comprised of hundreds of women fighting discrimination, violence and abuse. Awaaz-e-Niswaan provides a space for survivors of domestic violence and provides vulnerable women with legal support and trauma counseling.
Awaaz-e-Niswaan addresses a wide range of issues at the grassroots level—including religious fundamentalism and patriarchal systems—through the media, community protests and awareness and advocacy campaigns. The organization also strives to achieve gender justice by challenging discrimination within Muslim personal laws. During the last two decades of work against communalism, especially in the context of Bombay riots in 1992-93 and Gujarat genocide of Muslims in 2002, Hasina has garnered incredible experience with grassroots movement building through her sustained pressure on the state to stop violence against religious minorities.
Hasina is also an active participant in LGBT movements in India. She raises awareness about the concerns of sexual minorities at the community level and advocates for the rights of Muslim women and the LGBT community at the national level. She currently serves on the advisory council of the international solidarity network, Women Living Under Muslim Law, and is a member of an autonomous non-funded feminist group, Forum Against Oppression of Women.
Rita Mainaly
Assistant Professor and Coordinator, Human Rights & Gender Justice Program, Kathmandu School of Law
Nepal
Rita Mainaly is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the LL.M. Human Rights and Gender Justice Program at Kathmandu School of Law in Nepal. She is also a pro bono lawyer with the Victims Legal Aid Clinic at the Center for Legal Research and Resource Development (CeLRRd), an NGO focusing on violence against women, criminal justice, conflict transformation and inclusive democracy. At CeLRRd, she is responsible for providing counseling and legal advice to female victims, preparing necessary legal documents and representing women in court proceedings. As part of CeLRRd’s approach, she is also responsible for providing legal advice, counseling and training to women in rural communities
She is a member of Constitution Making Coordination Committee (under the joint effort of Nepal Bar Association and Canadian Bar Association) to prepare the position of the Nepal Bar Association on the issue of economic, social and cultural rights in the upcoming constitution. She has conducted research on issues affecting women and children, good governance and conflict transformation. In 2009, she became a two-year member of governing body of National Judicial Academy, which was established in 2004 to address the training and research needs of those who are directly involved in the administration of justice in Nepal.
In 2007, Rita was awarded a three-month human rights fellowship by the NYC-based International Center for Tolerance Education. Rita has written or co-written the following: Child Rights and Legal Protection for Children in Nepal (published by the Bheri Environmental Excellence Group), Manual for Free Legal Aid Paralegals (published by CeLRRd) and Domestic Violence Act: Scope and Challenges (published by the Bar Council Nepal).
Elvis Mbembe Binda
Deputy Coordinator, Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights
Rwanda
Elvis Mbembe Binda is Deputy Coordinator in charge of Access to Justice and Human Rights Education at Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (IPHR). IPHR focuses on the rights of detainees, indigenous people including the Twa, women and children, the LGBT community, the disabled and people living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda. IPHR offers training workshops at the grassroots level to sensitize Rwandan communities on the rights of women and children. Elvis takes complaints of human rights violations from local people, provides advice and, if needed, offers legal assistance. Since 2009, he has been defending children in conflict with the law in Rwanda through his association with Lawyers Without Borders—Belgium. Previously, he was a Human Rights Officer at the Central Africa Youth Network (CAYN) where he raised awareness among the youth of Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern D.R. Congo about their rights in national and international human rights instruments. Elvis is a member of the Kigali Bar Association and the East Africa Law Society. Since 2007, he has been a law lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the National University of Rwanda. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Law from National University of Rwanda.
John Mwebe
Program Assistant, Uganda Land Alliance
Uganda
As a Program Assistant in the Legal Service Department of Uganda Land Alliance (ULA), John Mwebe is supervising ULA’s Land Rights Information Centers, which educate people on the laws and policies governing land ownership as well as property rights and offers alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for land disputes. He provides technical advice on the registration of land and empowers local farmers to voice their concerns at meetings with district leaders. John also coordinates the community mapping project in Northeastern Uganda. The maps produced are used for project design, planning and decision making in resource allocation. He has participated in a number of experience-sharing programs with people around the globe on issues of women, land and the law and has also been a part of numerous research studies on land tenure systems in Uganda and how they affect agricultural production. John earned his bachelor’s degree in Development Studies from Makerere University.
Salima Namusobya
Senior Legal Advisor and Grants Manager, Refugee Law Project, School of Law, Makerere University
Uganda
Salima Namusobya is the Senior Legal Advisor and Grants Manager at the Refugee Law Project (RLP), School of Law, Makerere University. She joined RLP six years ago as a legal officer. She was promoted to Head of the Legal and Psychosocial Department before obtaining her current position. The RLP protects the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and deportees through legal and psychosocial assistance, education, training, research and advocacy. The RLP runs programs on the right to asylum and durable solutions, access to justice, sexual- and gender-based violence and persecution, child protection, anti-torture and mental health, disability rights, transitional justice and conflict sensitivity. The organization also has units for video advocacy and community interpretation (training bilingual individuals from the forced migrant communities to work as interpreters for their communities). Salima also works part-time as the Eastern Africa Coordinator for International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC) – an online project of the Amsterdam Center for International Law and the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. At ILDC, she is responsible for tracing, recruiting and coordinating national reporters in the region, liaising with the ILDC editorial team in Amsterdam, conducting outreach and organizing trainings and workshops. She has specialized in forced migration and international human rights law for more than six years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Law from Uganda Christian University, a Diploma in Legal Practice from Law Development Centre and a master’s degree in Law from University of Pretoria.
Ifeanyi Orazulike
Executive Director, International Centre for Advocacy on Rights to Health
Nigeria
Ifeanyi Orazulike has been the Executive Director of International Centre for Advocacy on the Right to Health (ICARH) since 2007. ICARH is an independent research initiative that promotes the rights of sexual minorities in Nigeria. ICARH monitors their situation, conducts research into the causes of and solutions to the problems facing sexual minorities, engages with policymakers to advocate for judicial reform, trains health service providers and organizes conferences, awareness campaigns, workshops and open debates to alter societal attitudes towards sexual minorities.
Since 2007, Ifeanyi has also been serving as the National Coordinator of Sexual Minorities Against AIDS in Nigeria. He is currently a member of the Communities Delegation to the Board of the Global Fund (2011-13). Ifeanyi earned his bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka and the Certificate in Management from the Nigerian Institute of Management in Kaduna State.
Ngungua Gisèle Sangua
Coordinator, Action Large des Femmes Avocates
Democratic Republic of Congo
Ngungua Gisèle Sangua has been serving as the Coordinator of Action Large des Femmes Advocates (Association of Female Attorneys - ALFA) since 2007. ALFA provides legal assistance primarily to female victims of violence. She is responsible for ALFA’s annual action plan and provides legal assistance to female victims of human rights violations. Gisèle also organizes seminars, workshops and reflection meetings for lawmakers on human rights issues. She has attended numerous trainings on human rights issues such as sexual- and gender-based violence, transitional justice, democratic electoral process and HIV/AIDS. She received her bachelor’s degree in Private and Judiciary Law from the University of Lubumbashi. She was admitted to the Lubumbashi Bar Association in 2004 and she is currently an assistant lawyer with the International Penal Court.
Athili Anthony Sapriina
Executive Member, Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights
India
Athili Anthony Sapriina is executive member of the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights. He helped establish the Asia Pacific Indigenous Youth Network. His organizing and networking skills has been an asset to his people since the mid-1990s and helped remove misrepresentations of the Naga aspirations to the larger Indian society and the world.
As a media practitioner, he has questioned states using media as a counter insurgency tool, including those employed by the Indian military. He has worked with media and other stakeholders in reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. He has had associations with PANOS South Asia and the Centre for Advocacy and Research, which is a media partner to AVAHAN, an HIV/AIDS project supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
He has followed the indigenous peoples debates at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Commission on Sustainable Development, Tribal Link Foundation, among others. He is convinced that nation states can only gain by addressing and transforming conflicts, such as those faced by states with indigenous/tribal peoples. He is a graduate of the University of Delhi.
