Mark Hanis is
the Founder and President of the Genocide Intervention Network. As a grandchild
of four Holocaust survivors, Mark has a deep understanding of individual
persecution and of hope. Several events in his personal life put him on a
course of anti-genocide activism, including work with Columbian asylum seekers
and torture victims. He spent seven months in Sierra Leone at the Special Court for
Sierra Leone (SCSL), during which time he worked alongside many refugees which
opened his eyes further to the conditions of the underclass. Mark has been elected
as an Ashoka Fellow, and won Fellowships of Echoing Green and Draper Richards.
In 2009 he also became a World Economic Forum Global Leader. Mark and Genocide
Intervention Network have been featured in the New York Times, Christian
Science Monitor and The New Republic. Mark has appeared on a number of media
outlets, including CNN Headline News, NBC, MSNBC and NPR. He is also a speaker
and presenter on a range of topics, including: Genocide Past and Present,
Darfur/Sudan and emerging conflicts, Grassroots Activism.
Genocide
Intervention Network's mission is to empower individuals and communities with
the tools to prevent and stop genocide. Outraged by the international
community's inaction when the Darfur conflict
began, the Genocide Intervention Network started on a journey that still
continues today. Genocide Intervention Network's mission and programs are
grounded in a deep commitment to the communities of those who face or are at
risk of genocide. Its members educate their communities, advocate for action
from their elected officials, and fundraise directly for civilian protection
and human security. It is an unprecedented organization whose goal is to change
the way the United States
and the international community respond to the world's worst crimes against
humanity. Genocide Intervention Network has expanded its efforts beyond Darfur,
to include conflict areas such as Burma,
Sri Lanka and Congo, by building
a broader movement that calls for a restoration of the moral and practical
legitimacy of international leadership.
