Pauline Akello Onunga Adero, Kenya, Mediator, Peace Lawyer

Stella Mystica Sabiiti, Uganda, Mediator
January 6, 2020
Huda Shafig, Sudan, Gender Analyst
November 4, 2019

I work for the UN. Women are involved in peace processes, but a lot of times we have men at the forefront, men with a certain stature who carry certain clout. So you find that most women working with these men are not in the limelight.

I have been one of these women. I worked with IGAD in the Somalia peace process that took place in Kenya from 2002 to 2005 and helped in drafting the legal framework for the Somalia Federal Government, the Transitional Federal Constitution.

During the Sudan and South Sudan peace process, I worked with the African Union High Level Implementation Panel chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, as part of the legal team. I drafted agreements that dealt with border, nationality and oil issues for seven years.

I also worked on cessation of hostilities agreements with rebel movements in Darfur, Blue Nile and the Southern Kordofan states in Sudan.