President

“We need to shift from a culture of reaction to one of prevention.”

- Mark Hanis, President, Genocide Intervention Network

Mark Hanis is the Founder and President of the Genocide Intervention Network. Genocide Intervention Network’s mission is to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide.

As a grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, Mark has a deep understanding of individual persecution and of hope and opportunity. Outraged by the international community’s inaction when the Darfur conflict began, Mark began on a journey that still continues today.

Over a half-century ago, the international community pledged to “never again” allow genocide to occur. Repeated failure to keep that promise (in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and now Darfur) sparked the creation of Genocide Intervention Network. Thousands in the international community are asking what they can do to stop genocide, and Genocide Intervention Network is answering by empowering individuals and communities to hold governments accountable to contribute directly to protecting civilians around the world.

Genocide Intervention Network’s mission and programs are grounded in a deep commitment to the communities of those who face or are at risk of genocide. Its members educate their communities, advocate for action from their elected officials, and fundraise directly for civilian protection and human security. It is an unprecedented organization whose goal is to change the way the United States and the international community respond to the world’s worst crimes against humanity. Genocide Intervention Network has expanded its efforts beyond Darfur, to include conflict areas such as Burma, and Democratic Republic of Congo, by building a broader movement that calls for a restoration of the moral and practical legitimacy of international leadership.

Several events in Mark’s life put him on a course of anti-genocide activism, including work with Columbian asylum seekers and torture victims. Mark also spent seven months in Sierra Leone at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), during which time he worked alongside many refugees which opened his eyes further to the conditions of the victims of atrocities.

Mark has been honored with Ashoka, Echoing Green and Draper Richards Fellowships and he is a 2009 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Mark and Genocide Intervention Network have been featured in the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and The New Republic as well  have appeared on a number of media outlets, including CNN Headline News, NBC, MSNBC and NPR.