Kate Gilmore is an Australian human rights activist and Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations.

Education

Gilmore earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New England as well as a Bachelor's in

Social Work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. She also did some postgraduate study in social work and

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activist ...

in Australia.

Career

Gilmore worked in a range of public sector and NGO positions. These include CEO of Broadmeadows Community Health Service (1992-1993) and manager of community care in the Royal Women's Hospital in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

(1993-1996), where she established Australia's first Centre Against Sexual Assault and helped establish the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House). For Amnesty she was national director 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 that it has more than ten million members a ...

Australia (1996-2000) and executive deputy secretary general of Amnesty International (2000-2010). At the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Gilmore became assistant secretary-general and deputy executive director (programme) of the

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...

in 2012 and in 2015 deputy high commissioner for human rights. In this role she is accountable to the high commissioner, currently

Volker Türk Volker Türk (born 27 August 1965) is an Austrian lawyer and United Nations official. He has been the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights since October 2022. Career Early years In 1991, Türk became a UN Junior Professional Officer and ha ...

. Gilmore has been engaged in issues in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

and assisting the Iraq government.

Other roles

, Gilmore serves as a co-chair, along with Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, of Every Woman Every Child EveryWhere.

References

Australian officials of the United Nations Amnesty International people Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Australian women public servants 21st-century Australian public servants University of Melbourne alumni University of New England (Australia) alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{UN-bio-stub