Brenda Akia

Dr. Brenda Akia is a Ugandan human rights lawyer and a Member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee) — a treaty body that monitors how Member States implement the CEDAW Convention to promote equality between women and men and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women. On the CEDAW Committee, she is the alternative rapporteur for climate change and disaster risk reduction and follow-ups. Dr. Akia has also worked on migration, environment and climate change nexus with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Africa Climate Mobility Initiative — an initiative by the UN General Assembly, World Bank, and African Union. Dr. Akia works with State Parties, civil society, academia and other key stakeholders, including women and girls in their respective diversities to work towards gender-responsive and sensitive climate adaptation and mitigation solutions to meet the specific needs of women.

In 2023, Dr. Akia was awarded a National Medal by the President of Uganda for her exemplary role to the nation and work on promoting gender equality. She has also received the Trail Blazer Award from the Uganda Law Society and is a laureate of two human rights awards: the Franco-German Peace and Reconciliation Award from the French and German Embassies in Uganda; the Women for Women Human Rights Award. She is a recipient of the Future Leaders Invitation Programme of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Her previous experience includes, the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch in New York; Chambers Appeals Division of the International Criminal Court (ICC), The Hague (The Netherlands), where she is listed as Assistant to Counsel; The Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA Uganda), Kampala (Uganda); and the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Arusha (Tanzania) as a legal researcher.

She has a PhD in Law from the University of Pretoria, South Africa; Master of Laws from Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany and the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, and a Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.