Belle Unobe
Queens
Summary
I am a socio-legal scholar with a critical feminist perspective, specializing in inclusive multilateralism through the United Nations Women, Peace, and Security agenda. My research focuses on analyzing the impact of systemic power structures on local communities, and I advocate for comprehensive, localized, and intersectoral approaches to peacebuilding.
I have a strong background in qualitative research, am deeply analytical, and have project management experience, which I developed through academic and professional experiences. I have successfully created user-friendly resources and facilitated impactful healing programs, showcasing my adaptability and practical communication skills. I am passionate about driving change through innovative approaches in conflict resolution and championing local actor agency and autonomy..
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Independent Researcher
Doctoral Researcher-RU-N
New York
01.2022 - Current
- UP Anthropology: Ethnography of the civil society's role and influence in rendering transitional justice. Employed a polymorphous ethnographic methodology adapted to navigate elite and insular settings, like the UN,
- Subject recruitment and semi-structured, relational, formal, and informal interviews with over 60 participants.
- Participant observation in and around UN spaces.
- Through innovative use of dispersed associations and engagements.
- I observed and analyzed the NGO Major Group and the NGO Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) as entry points for local actors' engagement with UN processes.
- Thematic analysis using a feminist and intersectoral lens, focusing on access, influence, role, and power dynamics.
Research Fellow
Institute for the Study of Emerging Threats.
Newark
01.2019 - Current
- Developed material for the user-friendly GAP online resource for genocide and human rights
- Reviewed project activities and prepared and reviewed research and operational reports.
- Conducted literature reviews on current theories about forgotten and hidden genocides, like the Yazidi genocide.
- Managed research projects, overseeing timelines.
Research Assistant
DGA
Newark
01.2019 - 05.2019
- Aided Prof. Gabriela Kuetting during spring in reviewing conference content for International Studies Association.
Coordinator, Intern and Genocide Committee
The Association for Trauma Outreach and Prevention (ATOP)
New York
02.2017 - 08.2018
- Expanded knowledge and practice of forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace building in post-trauma care programming.
- Facilitated healing circles to transform conflict and integrate theory with practice for holistic healing.
- Established the Burkinabe Peace Advocacy Project in 2018 to promote regional stability.
- Managed interns by setting SMART goals and conducting quarterly performance evaluations.
- Developed post-trauma care intervention programs tailored for the Harlem Francophone African community..
- Recruited international participants for UN programs, enhancing outreach for Meaningfulworld initiatives.
Observer
Unification Theological Seminary
New York
09.2013 - 05.2017
- Analyzed worship services across Hindu, Jewish, and Pentecostal traditions in New York.
- Facilitated interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution in diverse multicultural settings.
- Conducted assessment of fragile landscape in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, utilizing peacebuilding model from Interfaith Mediation Center.
- Reviewed the Imam and Pastor of the Kaduna Interfaith Mediation Center conflict transformation model.
Participant Observer
Clark University
Worcester
09.2011 - 12.2011
- Honed participatory methodology skills via hands-on training.
- Immersed in the Bhutanese refugee community to understand integration's needs and cultural ramifications in Worcester, MA.
Summer Teaching Assistant
African Community Education (ACE)
Worcester
06.2011 - 08.2011
- Mentored 20-25 East African high school refugees through reading and writing
- Supervised refugees' interactions with local teens through sports and dancing.
- Conducted an impact assessment of the program via students' performance.
Teaching Assistant
Clark University
Worcester
01.2011 - 05.2011
- Assisted 30 students in understanding course materials through discussion sessions, one-on-one sessions, and weekly prompts to generate discussions and critiques of topics
- Facilitated HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination seminar
- Set weekly prompts to stimulate discussions on HIV/AIDS stigma and the intersection of culture and biomedicine in HIV/AIDS awareness, stigma and discrimination, and other illnesses
Sexuality Education Facilitator
Girls Power Initiative
Benin City
01.2002 - 01.2007
- Mentored over 200 adolescent girls aged 10-18 on life skills
- Facilitated comprehensive sex education
- Drafted Sexuality Education Curriculum from the gender perspective for adolescent girls
- Trained high school teachers in Nigeria on implementing the Family Life and HIV/AIDS Curriculum in high schools in Edo and Delta States
Researcher
Independent Researcher
12.2005 - 05.2006
- Conducted research of an overview of sex workers in 3 junction communities in Nigeria, understanding safe sex practices among sex workers in these communities.
- Presented research at the International Condoms Meeting, London, organized by The International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Reproductive Health Matters, June 2006. Research published in the 2006 Reproductive Health Matters Journal.
- Presented findings to colleagues during industry meetings and conferences.
Education
Ph.D. - Global Affairs
Rutgers University-Newark
Newark, NJ05-2025
MA - International Development and Social Change (IDSC)
Clark University
Worcester, MA05-2012
BL - Barrister at Law
Nigerian Law School
Abuja, Nigeria05-2008
LL.B. - Law (Hons.)
University of Benin
Nigeria09-2006
Skills
- Atlas Ti
- Policy writing
- Project management
- Qualitative research
- Data analysis
- Intercultural communication
- Conflict resolution
- Microsoft
- SPSS
- Critical thinking
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Conference participation
- Team leadership
- Subject recruitment
- User experience
- Planning and scheduling
- Research methodology
- Effective communication
- Interpretation of findings
- Grant writing
Relevant Training
- South Sudan Mass Atrocity Matrix Games Simulation, 2024, Yale University
- Thayer Initiative/Mass Atrocity Prevention Practicum, 2022, Rutgers University, United States Military Academy, Yale University, Naval Academy, and Dartmouth College
- Finding Women’s Public Voice, 2019, Centre for Media & Peace Initiatives
- Executive Leadership Certificate Program, 2019, Medgar Evers College, CUNY, NY
- Finding Women’s Public Voice: A Workshop Series on Women and the Media, 2015, Centre for Media and Peace Initiatives, NY
- Development Knowledge Facilitator (DKF) Training, 2008, World Bank/NYSC, Lagos, Nigeria
- Capacity Building on HIV/AIDS Lobbying and Advocacy, 2008, Youth Coalition, New Delhi, India
- Capacity Building Training on Reproductive Health Advocacy, 2008, Youth Incentives, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Youth Leadership Training, 2004-2005, LEAP Africa, Abuja
- Monitoring and Evaluation Training, Module 1, 2002, Girls Power Initiative/International Women’s Health Coalition, Calabar, Nigeria
- Gender Mainstreaming Training, 2001, Gender Development Institute, Benin City, Nigeria
- Peer Educator and Leadership Development Training, 1997-1999, Girls’ Power Initiative (GPI), Benin City
Fellowships Scholarships Awards
- Pathways Research Fellowship
- Member, Golden Key Honor Society
- Academic Advancement Fund, GS-N-Rutgers University
- Graduate School Fall Scholarship,
- Research Fellowship, Center for the Study of Emergent Threats in the 21st Century
- Division of Global Affairs Fellowship, Rutgers University
- International Peace Fellowship (IPS),Philanthropic Education Organization
- Benue State, Nigeria Scholarship Award
- Federal Government of Nigeria Education Grant
- Most Outstanding Intern, Girls Power Initiative, Benin City, Nigeria
Recognitions And Invitations
- Feature of Justice Mirage? Sierra Leone TRC Article, New York University
- H-Diplo Journal Watch, Monitors leading scholarly journals for articles of particular interest.
- Invitation to join Golden Key International Honour Society
- Invitation to join Honor Society
- Speaker Invitation, 2022, Second World Neurocare Congress 2022
- Invitation to Publish a Feature Paper, 2022, Trauma Care
Service To Profession
Reviewer, Humanities and Social Sciences Journal, 2023- 2026
Peace and Conflict, Journal of Peace Psychology, America Psychological Association, 2023.
Publications
- Justice Mirage? Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Local Women’s Experiences, Unobe, E. C., 2022, Peer-Reviewed Article, Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology
- Black Genocide: Why the United States Does not Acknowledge It, Unobe, E. C., 2023, {Unpublished manuscript}, DGA, Rutgers University
- Leveraging Transitional Justice: United States Counterterrorism Strategy in Nigeria, Unobe, E.C. & Abboud, R., 2023, {In Progress, DGA, Rutgers University
- George Floyd’s Killing One Year Ago, Christabel Unobe, 2021, Online Article, World Now!
- Is the responsibility to protect doctrine hot air?, Christabel Unobe, 2020, Online Article, World Now!
- Is another Rwanda brewing in Nigeria?, Christabel Unobe, 2020, Online Article, World Now!
- The mirage of international justice, Christabel Unobe, 2020, Online Article, World Now!
- Blackness: A pre-existing condition in the United States?, Christabel Unobe, 2020, Online Article, Center for Media and Peace Initiatives (CMPI)
- Has Buhari’s Government Lost its Legitimacy?, Christabel Unobe, 2020, Online Article, World Now!
Research Interests
- Human rights
- Mass atrocities
- Transnational actors
- Forced displacement
- Religion
- Gender
- Perpetrator studies
- Race
- Transitional Justice
Timeline
Independent Researcher
Doctoral Researcher-RU-N
01.2022 - Current
Research Assistant
DGA
01.2019 - 05.2019
Research Fellow
Institute for the Study of Emerging Threats.
01.2019 - Current
Coordinator, Intern and Genocide Committee
The Association for Trauma Outreach and Prevention (ATOP)
02.2017 - 08.2018
Observer
Unification Theological Seminary
09.2013 - 05.2017
Participant Observer
Clark University
09.2011 - 12.2011
Summer Teaching Assistant
African Community Education (ACE)
06.2011 - 08.2011
Teaching Assistant
Clark University
01.2011 - 05.2011
Researcher
Independent Researcher
12.2005 - 05.2006
Sexuality Education Facilitator
Girls Power Initiative
01.2002 - 01.2007
Ph.D. - Global Affairs
Rutgers University-Newark
MA - International Development and Social Change (IDSC)
Clark University
BL - Barrister at Law
Nigerian Law School
LL.B. - Law (Hons.)
University of Benin
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