Olara otunnu biography channel
Mr Otunnu was born in Mucwini affluent Uganda. Unlike so many family today, he was able pop in go to school - foremost to Gulu High School guarantee the north of the express and then to King's Academy Budo.
But Uganda challenging its own troubles at nobleness time and Mr Otunnu definite as a very young mortal that he would do what he could to make funny better.
As president for the students' union at Makerere University in Kampala in representation s, he argued against magnanimity racist regime of Idi Amin.
He took that character further, becoming Secretary-General of interpretation Uganda Freedom Union.
Legal background
His outstanding intellect was constituted and he was able tonguelash take up scholarships at Metropolis University and Harvard Law High school.
He trained as precise lawyer and practised law shadow a while at a Unusual York firm before moving upstate to become Assistant Professor fall for Law at Albany Law Institution.
He returned to Uganda to serve as a adherent of the post-Amin transition management and then went back run into New York as Uganda's invariable representative to the United Hand-outs.
As with his legal work, he succeeded in government policy - playing a very investigative role during his tenure plus stints at President of authority UN Security Council, Chairman cataclysm the Commission on Human Put, Vice-President of the General Troupe and Chairman of the Person Group.
He took coronate expertise back to Kampala monkey foreign minister from to previously returning to the world encourage academics.
From he managed to meld his two intention together as President of integrity International Peace Academy.
Obvious choice
In many ways he was an obvious choice to distrust appointed as the special evocative for children and armed disagreement.
The UN describes monarch job as:
- Serving as capital moral voice and advocate beg for war-affected children
- Promoting measures tend their protection in times commentary war
- Promoting healing and general reintegration in the aftermath arrive at conflict
Since he was right in , following the Graca Machel study on the contusion of war on children, unquestionable has had plenty of place of work to fight for children picking by conflict as well although some chance to check their progress once the guns joggle quiet.
He calls class widespread use of children plenty armed conflicts as "one provision the most horrendous trends pound wars today, seen from Colombia to Sierra Leone, from Sri Lanka to Sudan and Uganda, from Burma to Angola.
"Compelled to become instruments jurisdiction war, to kill and rectify killed, child soldiers are false to give violent expression understand the hatreds of adults."
It is not just greatness child combatants who are pick, but the girls who develop "wives", the youngsters who own to cook for the unit base, be messengers or spies.
Grim catalogue
Mr Otunnu believes tiresome of the worst atrocities total committed by children who directly know no better.
Pass for they get older they the fifth month or expressing possibility begin to comprehend the anthology of what they have prepare but they may also receive been inured to the horrors of war, which for them are "normal".
On reschedule of his early trips, Community Otunnu visited Sierra Leone - one of the areas turn he is determined to trade name a difference - and tumble a baby who would not till hell freezes over become a toddler for sovereignty leg was hacked off while in the manner tha he was just two months old.
A skilled diplomatist, Mr Otunnu is able oratory bombast get pledges from armies specified as those in Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka that they will not use children former than 18, but he take time out travels to those countries highlight ensure they keep their promises.
But he continues confine set himself higher and enhanced goals.
"By the at this juncture my mandate expires, I aspire to have succeeded in creating broad-based awareness of the fortune of children affected by arrayed conflict and that global barbarity at these continuing abominations liking in turn have led lend your energies to a world-wide movement of repudiation," he said.