Kate Akello is a two-time Commonwealth scholar, funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK. She holds Master of Laws from Warwick University and is currently pursuing a PhD in Law at Durham University. Her PhD thesis locates itself within the rapidly expanding genre of literature known as Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Her research is two-fold, and it unpacks mainstream international law with the aim of exposing its biases and hegemony and on the other hand her research also reconstructs it to a counter-hegemonic international law. 

Kate has worked in complex conflict and post-conflict contexts with various non- governmental organisations in Uganda including Finnish Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, War Child Holland, and Caritas Uganda. She has extensive experience in refugee response, IDP programming, peacebuilding, transitional justice, inclusive education and sustainable livelihoods. Kate developed an interest in peacebuilding and conflict resolution following her personal experiences during the protracted civil war between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda which resulted in a situation of ongoing violence, internally displaced people and child abduction and the recruitment of child soldiers. Throughout the course of her work, Kate has developed communication, education and communication materials, advocacy strategies, gender inclusion strategies in humanitarian response, facilitated smooth reintegration of former LRA rebels into the community, built the capacity of stakeholders in alternative dispute resolution, contributed to the promotion of peaceful co-existence among refugees and between refugee and host communities. What motivates her most in her work is making a difference in the lives of marginalized communities. 

March/April 2022 Fellowship: Peacebuilding and Women’s Meaningful Participation in Peacebuilding Processes