Fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn is a Senior Analyst at UPTeC. She slso manages MT Legal Research and Consulting Services in Washington DC.

Dunia is a highly experienced human rights lawyer with over 17 years of experience working with international institutions, African Union Commission, and Academia. Dunia is currently a Co-Leader of the International Civil Society Working Group for the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.

Over the years, Dunia has served as a Human Rights Officer for the Eastern Africa Regional Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a Program Officer with UN Women, and a Child Protection Expert with UNICEF. She is an alumna of the Penn Kemble Forum on Democracy at the National Endowment for Democracy. Dunia has also worked for the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights and Amnesty International USA.

Dunia has published on various topics including gender based violence, access to information, internet freedom, and civil society regulations. Dunia is a co-editor of a book ‘Unleashing African resilience: Pan Africanist Renaissance in New African Century.’ She also recently authored a book entitled “Agenda 2063: Voices of African Women Today” She serves as an expert contributor to the World Bank Group’s Women, Business, and the law report.

She is a regular commentator on human rights issues on BBC World Service, Voice of America, and EBS TV worldwide.

Dunia holds a Master of Laws in U.S. National Security Law from Georgetown University, a Master of Arts in Human Rights from Addis Ababa University, and a Bachelor of Laws from Bahir Dar University. She has earned several certificates, including an Advanced Certificate in Social Work, a Certificate in Advanced Humanitarian Law and Policy, and a Certificate in Project Management. Dunia is currently a candidate for the New York Bar.