Seraphine Kando

Seraphine Kando is a Human Rights Specialist at the African Union Commission, within the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), where she leads initiatives at the intersection of human rights, governance, and conflict prevention. In her role, she supports the integration of human rights into the African Union’s early warning and mediation frameworks and contributes to advancing the AU’s normative agenda on democratic governance, transitional justice, and business and human rights.

She has been instrumental in shaping continental dialogues and partnerships, including the Africa Business and Human Rights Forum, the AU–EU Human Rights Dialogue, and the AU–UN Joint Human Rights Framework, ensuring that African perspectives are reflected in global processes. Her current portfolio also includes coordinating capacity-building programmes for National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), civil society, and regional organizations to strengthen early warning systems, prevention of atrocity crimes, and protection of civilians in peace support operations.

Seraphine has provided technical support to national and regional processes, such as the Sudan Fact-Finding Mission, the South Sudan National Human Rights Commission, and consultations on the establishment of the Pan-African Human Rights Institute. She has also contributed to the development of analytical tools such as the Prevention-Focused Human Rights Analytical Framework (PHRAF), aimed at embedding human rights indicators into conflict early warning and response systems.

Her expertise lies in bridging human rights and peacebuilding, with a focus on ensuring that ceasefire and mediation processes are informed by inclusive, rights-based approaches. She is passionate about strengthening the role of women in negotiations and peace processes across Africa, in line with the AU’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda and UN Security Council Resolution 1325.