Ms. Mireille Tushiminina, a national of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recently joined UN Women Burundi as a Country Program Manager consultant. Previously, Ms. Tushiminina served as Senior Gender Adviser in Mogadishu, Somalia. Prior to that, she was the Executive Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa where she has focused extensively on monitoring and reporting on various gross human rights violations by armed force groups, the ongoing Anglophone crisis (in Cameroon) and socioeconomic dimensions of conflict in African fragile states. Prior to that, and for over 20 years, she held senior management level positions in international development, conflict prevention & resolution, peacebuilding, political reforms, women’s peace and security, and gender & democratization.
She has demonstrated expertise in negotiation, mediation, prevention of violent extremism programs monitoring, and evaluation at national, regional, and international levels. Amongst many recognitions and awards, she is a Global Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, MLK Award recipient, Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow and an Alum of the Crans Montana New Leaders for Tomorrow. Equally, she was named the face of African Solidarity by the African Union. She is a certified Negotiator and African Women Mediator on the FemWise, a member of the African Governance Architecture’s Technical Reference Group of Experts at the African Union, and spearheaded many women’s group across the continent.
In the past decade, Ms. Tushiminina held various positions, including that with the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) as the Gender and Political Affairs Advisor, the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa based in Buea, and the Shalupe Foundation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and also consulted for Africans Rising, International IDEA, the National Human Rights Commission, the American Bar Association, Freedom House and other human rights institutions.
Ms. Tushiminina holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University, a Master’s degree from Davenport University, a Diploma in Rule of Law and Policy from Harvard Law School, an Executive degree from Oxford Saïd Business School, a Diploma in Mediation and Negotiation from the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael and currently working on a Doctor of Law and Public Policy.
