The Responsibility to Protect in the Time of Gaza and Sudan

With more than two decades of experience at the intersection of international human rights and global policy, Savita Pawnday is a passionate advocate, strategic leader and expert on atrocity prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). She serves as the Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, the world’s leading advocacy organization advancing the R2P principle at the United Nations and beyond. The Centre was established in 2008 with the support of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and other global human rights champions, to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Savita has been at the forefront of the movement to turn the promise of R2P into action. She has spent over a decade advising governments, UN officials and regional organizations on how to operationalize atrocity prevention and strengthen early warning and response mechanisms. She routinely convenes high-level discussions with foreign ministers, senior diplomats and civil society actors to drive policy change and ensure that protection of civilians is central to international responses to crises. In 2010 she helped conceptualize and launch the Global Network of R2P Focal Points — now the largest platform of senior government officials committed to atrocity prevention — with over 60 member states. She is also a founding Steering Group member of Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC).

Throughout her tenure Savita has led the Global Centre’s engagement with the UN system on a wide range of issues, including peacekeeping, international justice, gender, women, peace and security, and country-specific crises such as Ethiopia, Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory, Myanmar (Burma), South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. She has helped shape global discourse on R2P through strategic advocacy, diplomatic engagement and widely published analysis. Her thought leadership has made her a sought-after speaker at international conferences, UN forums and academic institutions.

Savita’s approach to global policy is shaped by her lived experience and on-the-ground work. Before joining the Global Centre she worked with Catholic Relief Services in Southern Africa, led development projects with grassroots NGOs in India and served low-income communities in New York through Trickle Up. This grounding in local realities continues to inform her global advocacy today.

She holds an M.A. in Political Economy and Development from Fordham University, with a focus on the political economy of civil wars, and a B.A. in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, University of Mumbai. Born and raised in India, Savita brings a deeply global perspective to her work and remains committed to advancing inclusive multilateralism and principled leadership in international affairs.