Academic & Civil Society Leaders
Mike Abramowitz @abramowitz
Director of the Centre for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Abramowitz is the former White House correspondent and national editor for the Washington Post. Half journalist, half activist, Abramowitz’s Twitter feed covers everything from the Responsibility to Protect, the crisis in Syria, to fighting dangerous speech and incitement.
Simon Adams @SimonAdamsR2P
Executive Director of the New York-based Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Adams has considerable experience working with governments, diplomats and civil society organizations in South Africa, East Timor, and Rwanda, amongst others. In the Twittersphere Adams provides a much needed voice driving the conversation on advancing #R2P at the national and international levels.
Peter Bouckaert @bouckap
Bouckaert is the Emergency Director at Human Rights Watch, focusing on the protection of civilians during armed conflicts. Very active and candid on Twitter, Bouckaert sets the bar high for live tweets on countries he is deployed too. Currently covering the downward spiral of the Central African Republic, his account has helped mobilize greater global attention to the atrocities being committed there.
Elizabeth Ferris @Beth_Ferris
Co-director of the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement at the Brookings Institution, Ferris is a humanitarian policy wonk whose tweets will provide you with the latest news on forced displacement.
Jeremy Konyndyk @JeremyKonyndyk
Former humanitarian aid worker and current Director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance at USAID, Konyndyk travels to disaster zones and is a key observer of civilians affected by conflict. He tweets about humanitarian crises on a regular basis and the challenges aid workers face working in some of the most hostile environments.
Shadi Hamid @shadihamid
Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center and Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, Hamid will get you covered on US foreign policy in the Middle East, Syria, and the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
Rebecca Hamilton @bechamilton
Human rights lawyer and teacher at Columbia Law School, Hamilton is a former foreign correspondent for the Washington Post and Reuters, who also found time to author Fighting for Darfur. She provides expert tweets on the Central African Republic, Syria, Sudan and South Sudan.
Jon Hutson @jonhutson
Hutson is a human rights advocate and communications strategist based in Washington, D.C. He is the architect of George Clooney's Satellite Sentinel Project (@SudanSentinel), who led successful negotiations to launch it as the world's first early warning system for human rights and human security.
Mukesh Kapila @MukeshKapila
Professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs, author of Against A Tide of Evil, and Special Representative of @Aegis_Trust, Kapila was the top UN official in Sudan when the Darfur genocide began. Kapila is very outspoken about the international community’s inaction in the face of atrocities. Simply put, his tweets inspire others to push aside indifference and to take action.
Naomi Kikoler @NKikoler
Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Kikoler also worked on national security and refugee law and policy for Amnesty International Canada. She is a go-to account for live tweets from high-profile events in New York and internationally on mass atrocity prevention.
Enzo Le Fevre @enzolefevre
Director of Research and Cooperation of the Budapest Centre for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, Le Fevre is a young scholar who tweets in both English and Italian. An important account to follow, especially if you want a European perspective on conflict and atrocity prevention.
Patrick Meier @PatrickMeier
Director of Social Innovation at the Qatar Foundation’s Computing Research Institute, Meier is the leading “digital humanitarian” who offers innovative thinking on the use of technology for early warning and humanitarian response. His tweets will make you understand the amazing way in which new technologies can be harnessed to reduce human suffering.
Daniel Solomon @Dan_E_Solo
Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and former National Student Director of STAND, Solomon is an avid tweeter and edgy commentator on conflict and mass atrocity prevention. Added bonus is that he really understands West Africa.
Andrew Stroehlein @astroehlein
European Media Director at Human Rights Watch and formerly with the International Crisis Group, Stroehlein is one of the top people on Twitter, as acknowledged by Foreign Policy magazine. His expertise is reflected in every one of his tweets and he comments on pretty much every conflict or atrocity. He gained notoriety for lambasting Jennifer Lopez for singing “Happy Birthday” to Turkmenistan’s authoritarian ruler.