Elio Azar

Elio Azar is the Special Initiatives Manager at the Principles for Peace Foundation in Geneva,
Switzerland. His work falls under the direct oversight of the Executive-Director and comprises
management of strategic platforms and initiatives falling under efforts at peacebuilding,
statebuilding, and Track II diplomacy, with a focus on the Middle East region. His prior
experiences include working in university, grassroots, government, multilateral, local, and
international organizations, as part of a career that has spanned four continents. Before moving
to Switzerland for a role as Interpeace’s Policy Officer to the Director of Policy, Elio led a
paramilitary-civil mediation program in Burkina Faso where he led discussions to broker two
district-level agreements on return and reintegration. Owing to his personal engagement on
global environmental policy, Elio is part of UNEP’s Youth Major Group, where he helped draft
the Youth Environmental Declaration, and has attended COP29 and spoken at UNESCO to
advocate for conflict-affected states’ access to environmental support and financing. He holds
a cum laude master’s degree from Sciences Po Paris with a concentration in Diplomacy and
Middle East Studies, and is fluent in English, Arabic, and French.