Dr Denis Mukwege is a world-renowned gynecologist, human rights activist and Nobel Peace laureate from east Congo. He has become the world’s leading specialist in the treatment of wartime sexual violence and a global campaigner against the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Denis Mukwege founded Panzi Hospital in 1999 as a clinic for gynecological and obstetric care. However, when war broke out, patients arrived with gruesome injuries. As Panzi Hospital became a refuge for thousands of victims, the team developed a specific expertise in the treatment of wartime rape. Dr Denis Mukwege campaigns globally to bring the use of rape as a weapon of war to an end. Together with the Yazidi activist Nadia Murad, Dr Mukwege received the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his “efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.” Dr. Mukwege received numerous awards for his work, including the UN Human Rights Prize (2008), the Right Livelihood Award (2013) and the Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament (2014). TIME magazine listed him among the world’s 100 most influential persons and the Carter Foundation named him a ‘citizen of the world.’

Nadia Murad is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, human rights activist, and survivor of the Yazidi genocide. After escaping captivity by ISIS, she dedicated her life to advocating for survivors of sexual violence and seeking justice for persecuted communities. As the founder of Nadia’s Initiative, she leads global efforts to rebuild communities affected by conflict and hold perpetrators of mass atrocities accountable.

Murad was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her unwavering commitment to ending conflict-related sexual violence. She has addressed the United Nations, governments, and international organizations, calling for justice and policy reforms to protect vulnerable populations.

Through her advocacy, Murad continues to amplify the voices of survivors, ensuring that their experiences lead to meaningful action toward peace, security, and human dignity.

Elizabeth Bohart is a social impact strategist with over 30 years of experience working in development. Elizabeth’s focus shifted from the private sector to the non-profit sector in 2006 when she founded the Antelope Foundation. Elizabeth has worked extensively in Eastern Africa, the Baltics, Russia, and Europe. 

Elizabeth brings a combination of business acumen and cultural sensitivity to her work, helping partners build more impactful organisations by developing effective and efficient strategies to improve programmes, systems, and external communications. Highlights of Antelope’s work includes co-founding AMPLIFY, a collaborative of community-based organisations in Eastern Africa, leading the development of Kwithu Kitchen (Malawi’s first tomato canning business), and serving as the Director of Outreach for the Sundance award winning film “Watchers of the Sky”. Elizabeth was a co-founder of Nadia’s Initiative and currently serves on their Board. She also serves on the Board of Komera, Maloto, and AMPLIFY. 

Balthazar Lionnard is a diplomat at France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Specialist in international cooperation policies, cultural diplomacy and equality issues, he has held several positions in central administration and abroad.

Joining the ministry in 2008, he was Secretary General of the French Institute in Chad and then in South Africa, before occupying various positions in the General Directorate of Globalization and then as a humanitarian advisor at the Crisis and Support Centre, and political advisor at the Africa Directorate.

Between 2023 and 2024, he was advisor in charge of international and European affairs to the presidency of the Louvre Museum, where he contributed to the development of the museum’s international strategy.

Until 2025, he was Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister Delegate for La Francophonie and International Partnerships.

He is now head of the Feminist Diplomacy and Education mission at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, where he leads the implementation of France’s international strategy for gender equality.

Iryna Dovgan was born in the town of Yasynovata, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine, into the family of a librarian and an engineer. After graduating from Donetsk University, she worked as an economist, accountant, design engineer, and as a cosmetologist, owning her own beauty salon.  

As a result of her work supporting the Ukrainian army, Iryna was arrested and detained, suffering serious forms of abuse, only to be forced to leave her hometown following her release with her family. Currently based in Kyiv, Iryna is still working to support Ukrainian prisoners of war. Since November 2018, she has been working as the national coordinator in the Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence (SEMA) to represent Ukraine. In February 2019, Iryna began leading the Ukrainian survivor network. She has been engaged in numerous advocacy activities, including speaking at conferences and on panels, and participating in parliamentary round table discussions in Ukraine. Iryna is married and has two children and two grandchildren.

Angela is one of the national coordinators of the Network of Women Victims and Professionals in Colombia. She is a survivor of sexual violence by the paramilitaries, and now she is a defender of women’s rights. She provides support to survivors of sexual violence and conducts workshops on sexual violence prevention. She was in the victim’s delegation to the peace negotiation table, and her role was crucial to include sexual abuse in the peace agreement. Since 2018, she has been involved as a national coordinator in Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence (SEMA), representing Colombia and the need for reparations at several international events. She also supported the organisation of a conference and study trip, inviting several SEMA members to Colombia, to collectively conduct advocacy and carry out various activities related to survivor rights. 

Emily Maltman is currently Deputy Director of the Gender and Children in Conflict Department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. She previously served as the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has held diplomatic postings in Lebanon, Jamaica, and Iraq.

Mr. Saruhashi become the Director for Gender Mainstreaming at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in July 2025, after serving as a Executive Assistant to the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. His portfolio includes gender equality and women empowerment issues in international fora such as the UN, G7 and G20. Mr. Saruhashi previously worked extensively in the areas of multilateral and bilateral cooperation at the foreign service, including as Counsellor and First Secretary to the Embassy of Japan in Germany, as well as First Secretary in the Embassy of Japan in Australia. He also served in the Oceania Division for the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.

Kolbassia Haoussou is head of the UK’s only torture survivor-led activist network Survivors Speak OUT (SSO). Kolbassia co-founded the national network in 2007 with the support of Freedom from Torture. SSO empowers torture survivors to speak out based on their first-hand experiences and to deliver advocacy interventions on issues related to the impact and aftermath of torture, securing protection, and rehabilitation.  

Kolbassia represents the Survivors Speak OUT network as lead survivor advocate in high-level advocacy spaces in the UK and internationally and in direct advocacy with key targets. He has addressed the UN General Assembly in New York, and in 2014 delivered a keynote speech alongside William Hague and Angelina Jolie at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. He plays an important ongoing role in the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) as a board member and as one of the UK PSVI Survivor Champions. He works alongside the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister, Lord Ahmad, to ensure that survivors are driving policy and at the centre of decision-making as independent experts. Kolbassia is also a board member of the London School of Economics and Centre for Woman Peace and Security. 

Joo min Park is Director for Human Rights and Social Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.

A career diplomat, she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007 and assumed her current position in August 2024. Her most recent overseas posting was in New Delhi, India, at the Korean Embassy to the Republic of India (2021-2023). She has also served in Brussels, Belgium, at the Korean Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union and Permanent Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (2018-2021).

Ruth Rubio Marín is a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Sevilla and a part-time Professor at the School of Transnational Governance of the European University Institute, Florence. She has taught in many other prestigious academic institutions including New York University, Columbia Law School, and Princeton University where she was part of the first cohort of fellows in the Law and Public Affairs Program. Her research focuses on transitional justice, comparative constitutionalism, law and gender, immigration, and citizenship. 

Professor Rubio is the author of over 50 articles and author, editor and co-editor of numerous books on reparations and gender. She has extensive in-country experience in dealing with reparations in post-conflict societies including in Morocco, Nepal, and Colombia. Professor Rubio has given talks and keynote speeches in over 25 countries around the world. She speaks five languages fluentl and is an occasional contributor to public opinion formation through editorials in national and international press.

Ms. Sellers, an international criminal lawyer, is the Special Advisor for Slavery Crimes for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. She is a Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College of the University of Oxford where she teaches international criminal law and human rights law. She is a Practicing Professor at the London School of Economics and a Senior Research Fellow at the Human Rights Center of the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Sellers served as the Legal Advisor for Gender and a prosecutor at the Yugoslav (ICTY) Tribunal from 1994-2007 and the Legal Advisor for Gender at the Rwanda Tribunal (ICTR) from 1995-1999. The landmark decisions by the ICTY and ICTR remain the pre-imminent legal standards for the interpretation of sexual violence as war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, torture, and enslavement. She also spent time as a Special Legal Consultant to the Secretary General’s Special Representative to Children in Armed Conflict. 

Ms. Sellers advises governments, international institutions and civil society organisations on international criminal law and humanitarian law, focusing on the strategic investigation and prosecution of sexual violence. She is the recipient of several awards including the prestigious Prominent Women in International Law Award by the American Society of International Law.

Julie Verhaar is a global executive non-profit advisor with over 20 years’ experience driving successful business and fundraising operations within International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs). She supports and facilitates the leadership of organisations and United Nations agencies in their organisational development and journey to sustainability, transformational change, and global expansion.  

Most recently, she was the Acting Secretary-General for the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, leading the organisation and the implementation of a cultural change initiative which included the creation of a Racial Equality, Diversity & Inclusion initiative. A comprehensive mental health and well-being programme for all staff was implemented and enhanced because of the Covid-19 pandemic. She has also served in Amnesty International as the Deputy Secretary-General and Senior Director Global Fundraising & Engagement.  

Before joining Amnesty International, Julie was in senior leadership positions with UN Children Fund, Greenpeace International and the Netherlands Red Cross. Julie has been a member of the supervisory board of the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation since 2016. 

Dr Wühler is a German lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in claims, restitution, and reparation programmes. He is a board member of the Register of Damage for Ukraine. He was Legal Adviser to the President of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal; Chief of the Legal Service of the United Nations (UN) Compensation Commission; and Director of the Reparations Department of the International Organisation for Migration. He has provided legal and policy advice on design, and has directed the implementation of large-scale reparation programmes, inter alia in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Germany, Guatemala, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Yemen. He was Chair of the Appeal Board of the World Intellectual Property Organisation and of the Kosovo Property Claims Commission. Dr Wühler also served as an expert appointed by the International Criminal Court to advise the Court on reparations in the Bemba and Ntaganda cases.