Benjamin Smith currently heads up the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD)’s Organised Crime and Peacemaking programme. He also provides strategic and substantive advice to mediators and conflict parties and is a member of the UNODC High-Level Expert Group on Transnational Organised Crime. Before joining HD, Ben spent 13 years with the United Nations (UN), specializing in mediation, transnational crime, the security sector, and peacekeeping. He was based with the UN in multiple countries, including Nepal, South Sudan, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. Most recently, he served as the Head of UNODC’s program to combat migration-related crime in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Earlier, Ben was the Africa Team Leader for the UN Mediation Support Unit, where he also led on ceasefires and security arrangements. He has held a number of other field-based roles, including Officer-in-Charge of the UN Security Sector Reform Sections in South Sudan and Nepal. At the start of his UN-related career, Ben negotiated UN General Assembly resolutions on behalf of the EU and the UK Government. Ben holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Master’s degree in Modern History and Modern Languages from the University of Oxford.

Publications:

• Engaging with Criminal Armed Groups: Insights for Peacemakers