Post Date: November 8, 2005
Betty Murungi, a fellow at the HLS Human Rights Program and an advocate for human rights in Africa, has been named this year’s International Advocate for Peace by the Cardozo School of Law. The award honors contributions to justice, peace and conflict resolution. Previous recipients include former President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.
A lawyer by profession, Murungi has been a leader for two decades in promoting women’s rights in Kenya. She co-founded an association of women attorneys in Africa and has worked in Kenya and Rwanda as a consultant with women’s rights coalitions. She has also advocated broader inclusion of gender perspectives in the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
As a fellow at HRP, Murungi will be working on justice and gender issues in Kenya and Rwanda. In particular, she will addresses the role of women in processes that seek to arrive at truth, justice and reconciliation for wide-scale rights abuses.
More information about Murungi’s work is available at the International Advocate for Peace Award website.