Pierre Sané (born 1948) is the founder and president of the Imagine Africa Institute. He was
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences from May 2001 - June 2010. He was Secretary General of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
from October 1992 to April 2001.
Biography
Sané was born in
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
,
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
. For fifteen years prior to joining Amnesty International, he worked in the field of international development, serving successively as Regional Controller, International Director of Policy and Budget, and Regional Director (West and Central Africa) of the International Development Research Centre in Canada. He studied for a doctorate in Political Science at
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...
, Ottawa, Canada, and holds an M.Sc. in Public Administration and Public Policy from the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 milli ...
, as well as being a qualified chartered accountant with an MBA from the
École Supérieure de Commerce et d'Administration des Entreprises of Bordeaux, France. He has published extensively on development and human rights issues. He was a founding member of the Pan-African Foundation
PANAF, a non-governmental organization spanning worldwide to promote African unification; a trustee and founding member of
Frontline
Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield.
Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to:
Books and publications
* ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant
* ''Frontlines ...
(Dublin).
* Imagine Africa: Founder and President
*
United Nations Global Compact
The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to encourage businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is a princi ...
: Member of the board and Chair of the Human Rights Working Group
* United Nations University: Member of the Advisory Committee of UNU CRIS
* West Africa Institute: Founder and Member of the Board (Praia, Cape Verde)
* Daimler-(Mercedes-Benz) Member of the Adviser Board on Integrity and Corporate Responsibility
He joined
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
in Paris as Assistant Director General (2001 - 2010). After retiring from the UN he taught at
University of Kyoto
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture
, established =
, type = Public (National)
, endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD)
, faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff)
, administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff)
, students = 2 ...
(Japan) and
University of Seoul
The University of Seoul (UOS; ) is a municipal public university in Seoul, South Korea. UOS is famous in South Korea for a large number of alumni working as national or municipal government officials. UOS is specialized in urban science and has ...
(South Korea).
He founde
Imagine Africa Institutein 2011.
Work for IDRC
* Directed the development of the IDRC Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa
Directed studies and research on University – Small Scale Industry Linkages in Africa with the aim of institutionalising university-productive sector linkages in the region.
* Directed studies aiming at developing a program of research on Regional Integration in West Africa.
Organised a Donors Conference on Research in Sub Saharan Africa that involved 20 funding agencies and multilateral institutions aimed at fostering collaboration among donors.
* Promoted the development of research in the region and contributed to the enhancement of a regional capacity in science and technology policy formulation, with the objective of making research an integral part of the development efforts.
Work for Amnesty International
Appointed Secretary General of Amnesty International in October 1992, Pierre Sané was responsible for the day-to-day management of the international affairs of this human rights movement, headed the
International Secretariat in London, and represented the movement to governments, international organizations and the general public. Pierre Sané had joined Amnesty International in 1988. He served as Secretary General of Amnesty International from 1992 to 2001.
Journée de la femme 5 – Pierre Sané, le combat d’un homme pour la cause féministe
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In 1993 Pierre Sané led Amnesty International's delegation at the World Conference on Human Rights
The World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War. The main result of the conference was the Vienna Declarati ...
, and played the same role in 1995 at the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing. He addressed the United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...
in September 1997, briefing the members on the theme of human rights and armed conflict. This was followed by a meeting with the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...
. In both meetings, Pierre Sané stressed that attention to human rights issues can not only provide early warning of potential conflict but also enhances the chances of establishing a lasting peace. He also addressed the Permanent Council of the Organisation of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
(Washington) calling for a moratorium on the death penalty in the Americas (1998). In 1998, Pierre Sané led the worldwide campaign to mark the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt ...
, focussing the attention of the world on the threats against human rights defenders in many countries. He presided over the Human Rights Defenders Summit in Paris in December 1998 and called on the international community to rededicate itself to the values and principles of the UDHR
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, i ...
.
Under his leadership, Amnesty International was extensively reorganized with introduction of strategic planning, evaluation, internal audit, central fund-raising and crisis response. He recruited a new management team to adjust AI to new challenges, and initiated decentralization, opening offices in post conflict countries.
Work for UNESCO
In his capacity as Assistant Director General for the Social and Human Sciences, Pierre Sané was responsible for the development, execution and evaluation of programmes such as:
* Social Science Research and Policy (International Migration and Multicultural Policies, International cooperation in Social Sciences, Youth and Sports)
* Human Rights and Philosophy (Human Rights and Development, Gender and Women’s Rights, Racism and discrimination)
* Ethics of Science and Technology (Bioethics, Science Ethics and Ethics of the Environment)
Work for IMAGINE AFRICA
Founder and President of Imagine Africa:
Imagine Africa is a think tank dedicated to the strengthening of research policy linkages in Africa and on Africa in order to improve the quality of public policies. In particular the Institute is working at the moment to launch a new forum on Africa Asia partnership in November 2015 as part of its program on Africa and on South South emerging partnerships. A similar forum is envisaged for March 2016 on the Africa Latin America partnership. The other areas of concentration of the Institute include regional integration and decentralization in Africa. The Institute is based in Paris and Dakar.
See also
* Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
* UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
* Human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
* African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
References
External links
Imagine Africa Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sane, Pierre
Amnesty International people
UNESCO officials
Living people
1948 births
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Carleton University alumni
Kyoto University faculty
University of Seoul faculty
Senegalese activists
Senegalese officials of the United Nations