Mehari Taddele Maru

Mehari Taddele Maru is an author, part-time professor at the European University Institute, in Florence, Italy and a member of the Tana Forum Technical Committee based in Addis Ababa. He consults on international human rights law, migration, displacement and human trafficking, election management, political analysis, political campaigning, strategy and public policy, foreign policy and geostrategic relations. He is a consultant to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), African Union, United Nations, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, African Peace Support Trainers Association, among other organizations.
== Early life and education ==
Maru was born in the Tigray Northern region of Ethiopia on 5 May, 1974. The region at the time was the centre of a civil war. Serious violations of human rights, forced migration and displacements, disappearances of close family members including his father and grand parents were documented. His family were public servants and faced targeted repercussions. They fled the conflict for the safety of the remaining family members. This background influenced and shaped his worldview and direction in life.
Maru holds a PhD in International Law from JL Giessen University, Germany (2011). He also attained the following degrees and diplomas:
* Bachelor of Laws – LLB Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia (2000)
* Diploma, Conflicts and Ethnic Political Studies from University of Pennsylvania, USA (2001)
* Diploma, Peace and Security, and Federalism in Multinational countries from University of Fribourg, Switzerland (2004)
* Certificate in Peace, Human Rights and Justice from University for Peace/Ethiopia (2005)
* Master of Science, Forced Migration Studies from University of Oxford, UK (2005)
* Certificate in Public Policy and Management from J. F. Kennedy School of government, USA (2006)
* Master of Art, Public Administration, Harvard University, USA (2007)
== Career ==
Maru has held various positions in academia, multilateral agencies and consulted for various economic communities and international NGOs for the last 20 years. He started consulting for UNDP, UNECA, GIZ, FES and others from 1999 to 2009 in Addis Ababa. He worked on political funding formula and prepared guidelines for Ethiopian elections, offered training courses to enforcement agencies and the media. He also trained election officials on human rights, polls management, governance, rules of engagement with police and others.
He served as a director of Addis Ababa University between 2003 and 2006. During his tenure he involved students in the decision-making process, reformed programmes at the university, initiated centres of excellence and good governance, established a welfare office for disadvantaged students, started the University Ombudsman programme, among other achievements.
Maru has also worked as Programme Coordinator for the AU Migration Programme including designing and implementing the AUC Initiative against Trafficking.[5] In this role he led the planning for the African Union Migration Programme and the African Union Commission Initiative Against Trafficking Programme (AU.COMMIT). He was also involved in strategic policy formulation to bolster African Union’s cooperation with the European Union, and within countries and governmental agencies on the African continent. He developed the guidelines for implementation and monitoring of the Migration Policy Framework for AU-EU declaration of migration and development policy. He is also credited with drafting various continental policy frameworks of the African Union’s; the AU Border Governance Strategy; the Common African Position on Humanitarian Effectiveness; the Common African Position on Migration and Development; AU.COMMIT; and the AU Migration Action Plan (2008-2012), AU Cooperation with Regional Economic Communities (AU-RECs) within the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and served as a resource person for the Pan African Migration Forum.
He served as the chair of board in ARPD between 2008 and 2010. He was the public face of this organization and responsible for its operations.
Following his success as programme coordinator with AU, he was made programme head for African Conflict Prevention Programme in ISS in 2010. He was responsible for creating an annual action road map and the budget. He strategized on policies to bolster AU-EU as well as Intra-Africa cooperation on peace and security. He spearheaded several research projects and funding by acting as a point of contact for all internal, external, local and global stakeholders. He served ISS for two years in this position. 
Currently he consults for Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), African Union, United Nations, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, African Peace Support Trainers Association, and others independently since 2012. He is consulting on International Human Rights Law, Election management, policies on forced Migration and displacement, AU anti-corruption framework and illegal money outflow, AU’s partnership with USA, Middle East, China, India, European Union, and others.
Maru planned the strategy for the South Sudan mediation and the IGAD monitoring and verification mechanism of the country. He also facilitated many South Sudan peace negotiations. In his capacity as a migration consultant for IGAD, he is credited for drafting the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, reviewing the IGAD Treaty, formulating the IGAD Migration Action Plan (IMAP). 
His recent book, The Kampala Convention and Its Contributions to International Law Eleven International Publishing, 2014) examines the 2012 AU Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (the ‘Kampala Convention’). The book analyses the provisions of the Kampala Convention in relation to the governance of migration, peace and security in Africa, and discusses relevant international law. 
== References ==
== External Links ==
* Official Website
* Mehari Taddele Maru on Facebook
* Mehari Taddele Maru on Twitter
* Mehari Taddele Maru on LinkedIn
Category:European University Institute faculty
Category:Human rights activists
Category:Human rights lawyers