Joel Amegboh, Incoming PhD Student
Joel Amegboh, an incoming PhD student, has worked for a number of agencies and departments under the United Nations. These include the Department of Public Information (DPI), Mali Integrated Operational Team of the Africa Division II in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and the Permanent Mission of Togo to the United Nations. According to Joel, “I loved my duties, especially working with the Counsellor responsible for disarmament, global challenges, and threats to peace that affect the international community. I learnt a lot during this period which bolstered my passion to continue to work for peace.”
Originally from Togo, Joel has lived in other countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana. “My love for peacebuilding work began when I personally experienced international and regional attempts at resolving conflicts being complemented by local based peacebuilding initiatives,” Joel mentioned. Even after moving to the U.S. to further his education, he still focused on peacebuilding and earned his MA in Global Development and Peace from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. While there he worked on his thesis titled Understanding the Scopes, Challenges and Limitations of Two Different Models of Peacekeeping Missions in Africa: An Assessment of UNOSOM and AMISO; an attempt on his part to analyze the many challenges and limitations of African Union peacekeeping initiatives in Africa. “I have become enthralled with the large and seemingly impossible tasks that the UN and other regional bodies take upon themselves and I wanted to focus on that, as well as show how a number of these organizations navigate these challenges.”
While Joel was with the Educational Outreach of the Department of Public Information, he decided to further his education because, according to him, "I felt there was a theoretical gap in my work, and one of the top programs that could help address this deficiency I discovered, was S-CAR.”
Joel Amegboh comes to S-CAR wanting to explore the role of national and international NGOs during
peace processes and in post-war peacebuilding; the roles and rights of children, girls, and women in conflict; and the long term implications of post-electoral violence in Africa