Jody Williams is an American author and human rights activist who received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Her human rights work is multifaceted: in addition to her efforts to ban landmines, Williams was one of the founders of The Nobel Women’s Initiative, which strives for a nonviolent world of security, equality and well-being by spotlighting women’s rights issues. Williams has also served as the Head of the High Level Mission on Darfur for the UN’s Human Rights Council.

About

Jody Williams is an American author and human rights activist who received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). Starting in 1992, with less than ten non-governmental organizations and with Williams as the sole staff member, she oversaw the growth of the campaign to more than 1,300 organizations in 95 countries. Through working with national governments, UN departments, and the Red Cross, the ICBL managed to achieve its goal of an international agreement banning landmines in 1997, with the signing of the Ottawa Treaty. Williams served as a chief strategist and spokesperson for the ICBL throughout her tenure and continues to serve the ICBL as a campaign ambassador and editor of the organization’s landmine report.

Williams’ human rights work is multifaceted. Prior to her work with the ICBL, Williams worked for eleven years to raise awareness about U.S. policy toward Central America. She developed and directed humanitarian relief projects as the deputy director of the Los Angeles-based organization Medical Aid for El Salvador and was co-coordinator of the Nicaragua-Honduras Education Project, leading fact-finding delegations to the region. In 2006, Williams became one of the founders of The Nobel Women's Initiative, which strives for a nonviolent world of security, equality and well-being by spotlighting women’s rights issues. Williams has also served as the Head of the High Level Mission on Darfur for the UN’s Human Rights Council. Williams is a prolific writer whose articles have appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world, including: The Wall Street Journal, The International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Toronto Globe & Mail, The Irish Times, and The Los Angeles Times. She has contributed chapters to numerous books and co-authored a book on the landmine crisis. Her most recent, Banning Landmines: Disarmament, Citizen Diplomacy and Human Security, was released in March 2008, and analyzes the Mine Ban Treaty and its impact on other human security-related issues. She is currently working on a memoir related to her work for social justice. Since 2003, Williams has held a faculty position as Distinguished Professor of Social Work and Global Justice at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.