Sabrina Brandt

Sabrina joined Human Rights Watch after having worked as a diplomat for around 15 years, including in posts at the UN and the EU. From 2017-2018, she was the interim team leader of the Africa team at the Dutch Permanent Representation to the UN in New York, during the Dutch membership of the UN Security Council. From 2019-2021, Sabrina was the Political Advisor to the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process based in East Jerusalem, followed by a post as Regional Security Coordinator for the Maghreb, in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based in Tunis from where she frequently travelled to Libya and Algeria. Afterwards, she worked in The Hague as Head of Strategy and Policy at the Directorate for Personnel and Organization (at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

She holds a PhD in International Development from the University of Oxford. Her research focused on how the organizational structures of armed groups affect their leaders’ decision-making during peace negotiations, for which she interviewed over 40 former rebel leaders in Eastern Congo and Kosovo.