A lawyer and international development expert, Desire Assogbavi has been successively the Resident Representative to the African Union and Director of the Liaison Offices of three international organizations: Oxfam International, Plan International, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for 13 years combined between 2006 and 2019, where he worked on a range of issues including humanitarian policies, peace, and security, democratic governance, gender justice, youth et social policies.
Previously, he coordinated the Africa Team of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, a project of the World Federalist Movement–Institute for Global Policy in New York from 2001 to 2006.
From 1997 to 2001, elected by the Parliament of Togo, Désiré served in both the National Human Rights Commission and the Inter-Ministerial Commission to implement International Humanitarian Law as Commissioner. During the same period, he produced and presented juridical & civic education programs on the National Radio of Togo and was appointed in 1997 as Head of the Civic Education Department (Ministry of Communication).
Désiré also worked for four years as a researcher with the Nobel Prize winner the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and have contributed to the publication of four global annual reports of the Landmine Monitor.
Désiré has been appointed Member of the Netherlands Government’s Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development Policies since 2014.
He published and presented more than 80 articles and papers on various issues, including international humanitarian law, international justice, civil service, governance, the African Union, and African politics and, he led the drafting team of the first-reference manual on the African Union: “African Union Compendium”.
Désiré Assogbavi studied international law, administrative sciences, human rights, and management in Togo, France, Canada, and Austria.
He speaks French and English.
