Asha Asokan is an extraordinary Rotary Peace Fellow who got her start in peacebuilding in Sudan, where she first worked for the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission as a contractor and then moved to South Sudan with the Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP). With NP, she succeeded in stopping warring sides in South Sudan! See https://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org/blog/south-sudan-news/387-the-small-girl-and-the-big-men.
She is currently working with Nonviolent Peaceforce in Minneapolis for the protection of civilians by improving their safety and security through Unarmed Civilian Protection approaches.
Previously, in her role as Child Protection Officer with the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan, she advocated and negotiated directly with armed forces and groups to stop child recruitment and other grave child rights violations in South Sudan. She also supported the Office of the UN Special Representative to the SG on Children and Armed Conflict (UNSRSG CAAC) in NY for the protection of children in armed conflict.
She is now co-chairing a Working Group on Conflict Prevention, Peacekeeping, and Peacemaking with Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS), a global platform, based in DC. She is also serving on the Rotary Action Group for Peace Subcommittee on Nuclear Weapons Education.
