Ajit3011: Started Initial Data W/ Refs

2026-04-17T13:49:52Z

Started Initial Data W/ Refs

New page

{{Short description|Humanitarian leader and author}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mukesh Kapila
| honorific_suffix = [[M.D.]] [[CBE]]
| image = Sudan border lands 2013 - FRECCIA AEGIS-1214.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1955}}
| birth_place = [[India]]
| citizenship = [[British people|British]]
| alma_mater = [[Oxford University]] ([[M.D.]])<br>[[London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine]] (post-grad)
| notable_works = ''[[Against a Tide of Evil]]'' (2013 memoir)
| website = {{url|http://www.mukeshkapila.org/}}
}}
'''Mukesh Kapila''' [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]] [[CBE]] (born 1955)<ref name="BMJ 2019">{{Cite journal|date=2019-02-27|title=Mukesh Kapila: The international humanitarian|url=https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l649|journal=[[BMJ]]|language=en|volume=364|pages=l649 |doi=10.1136/bmj.l649|issn=0959-8138|pmid=30814068|s2cid=73508021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> is an author, medical doctor, professor, and a senior humanitarian.

He is a specialist in [[Crisis management|crisis]] and [[conflict management]], [[Humanitarian aid|humanitarian affairs]], [[Post-conflict aid|post-conflict]] and development, and [[HIV]]/AIDS. He has worked for the [[National Health Service|UK National Health Service]], the British government and the [[United Nations]] (UN). He witnessed [[Rwandan genocide|genocides in Rwanda]], [[Bosnian genocide|Bosnia-Hercegovina]] and [[Darfur genocide (2003–2005)|Darfur]], the latter while being the head of the United Nations in [[Sudan]]. He was unceremoniously fired, after becoming a [[whistleblower]] regarding UN inaction in Darfur.<ref name="HMDT">{{Cite web |title=Dr Mukesh Kapila CBE |publisher=Holocaust Memorial Day Trust |url=https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/dr-mukesh-kapila-cbe/ |access-date=2022-01-22 |language=en}}</ref>

Kapila is the author of two books about genocide: ''[[Against a Tide of Evil]]'' (2013) and ''I am a stranger to kindness'' (2019). He currently works as a professor of global health and humanitarian affairs at the [[University of Manchester]], and is a Special Representative of the [[Aegis Trust]] for the prevention of [[crimes against humanity]].<ref name="HMDT" />

== Early life and education ==
Kapila was born in [[India]] in 1955.<ref name="HMDT" /><ref name="The Conversation" />

He has a degree in medicine from [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] and post graduate [[public health]] qualifications from the [[London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine|London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine]].<ref name="The Conversation" />

==Career==
He is a British medical professional and professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs at the [[University of Manchester]]. He is a specialist in crisis and conflict management, humanitarian affairs, post-conflict and development, and [[HIV]] and [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]]. Kapila is also Special Representative for the [[Aegis Trust]] for the prevention of crimes against humanity.<ref>[https://www.aegistrust.org/africa-speaking-tour-aegis-special-representative-comes-uganda-kenya/ Africa speaking tour by Aegis Special Representative comes to Uganda and Kenya]. [[Aegis Trust]], September 13th, 2013.</ref><ref>http://www.aegistrust.org/Latest-News/former-un-sudan-chief-becomes-special-representative-for-aegis.html{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

As a mid-level civil servant in 1994, he was part of one of the first British teams to see the aftermath of the [[Rwandan genocide]] after entering [[Rwandan Patriotic Front]]-controlled [[Kigali]].<ref name="Aegis">[http://www.aegistrust.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=310&Itemid=260 Dr Mukesh Kapila, edited transcript, 'Moving from Words to Action; the Responsibility to Protect'], [[Aegis Trust]], 25 January 2006</ref>

He was the Deputy Director of the National UK AIDS programme during the 1990s.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

He was Head of Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs unit of the British [[Department for International Development]] from 1998 to 2002. From 2002 to 2003, he was a Special Adviser to the United Nations, first to the Special Representative of the Secretary General in [[Afghanistan]] and then to the [[High Commissioner for Human Rights]]. In 2003–2004, Kapila was the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, and the [[United Nations Development Programme|UN Development Program]] Resident Representative for the [[Sudan]].

While stationed in Sudan, he was outspoken in his condemnation of the human rights abuses being committed in the western region of [[Darfur]]. His activism began after a Darfuri woman came to his office to tell him how she, her daughter and 200 other women in the village of Tawilla had been [[rape|gang-raped]] and mostly murdered by government soldiers and paramilitaries.<ref name="Aegis" /> His reports about the [[Darfur conflict]] were at the time dismissed by the Government of Sudan as "a heap of lies", though they succeeded in bringing Darfur to the attention of the world's media for the first time. Kapila was transferred out of Sudan in April 2004, only 13 months into a 24-month assignment.<ref name="parliament">[http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/international_development/ind_04_05_14.cfm Press Notice 14, Session 2004–05 – Darfur, Sudan: Crisis, response and lessons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112192142/http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/international_development/ind_04_05_14.cfm |date=12 January 2008 }}, announcement for an evidence session of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], May 2005</ref> Commenting in 2006 on this period, Kapila stated:

<blockquote>There is debate about whether we had [[genocide]] in Darfur or not, but certainly in my mind, and the mind of many, many people, I think there is very little doubt that what went on in Darfur in 2003 and the early part of 2004 was certainly genocide. We can argue the words, but that would be no consolation to those people who are affected.

<br>So I subsequently went on to speak about it publicly, having tried the various diplomatic routes and avenues, and I soon found myself hauled onto a plane out of [[Khartoum]]. And as I reflected back on it, I thought to myself that there I was presiding over the first genocide of the 21st century – it is a place in history you don't wish to have.<ref name="Aegis" /></blockquote>

He was a Director in the Department of Health Action in Crises of the [[World Health Organization]] (2004 to 2006). An employee of the Government of the United Kingdom, he was on secondment to the United Nations. He was an Adviser to the World Bank on climate change issues, has advised the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), and the International Labour Organization. He was the chief executive of PHG Foundation in Cambridge, UK from September 2003 to August 2004.

Prior to his appointment as Special Representative for the Aegis Trust, Kapila was the Under Secretary General for National Society and Knowledge Development at the [[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies]] (IFRC). Earlier he served as the Special Representative for HIV and AIDS,<ref>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/218536/115980564141.htm "Southern Africa deserves better than promises", says the International Federation's new Special Representative for HIV and AIDS], [[Reuters]], 2 October 2006</ref> and subsequently as Special Representative to the Secretary General of the IFRC. While at IFRC, Kapila has been instrumental in developing worldwide "global alliances" of the Red Cross Red Crescent such as HIV and disaster risk reduction, where successful scale-up has been achieved. He has been responsible for formulating Strategy 2020 – the International Federation's vision for the next decade.

He has served as an Advisory Board member of the [[DCAF|Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces]], and of [[Minority Rights Group International]], and Executive committee member of the Alliance for Direct Action against Rape in Conflicts and Crises (AllianceDARC). He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the [[United Nations Institute for Training and Research]], the [[International Peace Academy]] and of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination (UNDAC) system.

In 2022 Kapila wrote blog posts about corruption at [[United Nations Office for Project Services]], which lead to resignation of its leaders.<ref name="NYT resign">{{cite news |last1=Fahrenthold |first1=David A. |author-link=David Fahrenthold |last2=Fassihi |first2=Farnaz |author-link2=Farnaz Fassihi |date=May 8, 2022 |title=Head of U.N. Agency Resigns After Questions Arise About Loans |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/08/us/politics/un-agency-loans-resignation.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |location= |access-date=May 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://mukeshkapilablog.org/2022/05/01/the-world-bank-and-other-donors-must-stop-funding-fraud-tainted-unops/ |title=Ten reasons why the World Bank and other donors must stop funding fraud-tainted UNOPS |last=Kapila |first=Mukesh |date=May 1, 2022 |website=Mukesh Kapila blog |access-date=May 7, 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

Kapila is a Senior Member of Hughes Hall College, Cambridge University, UK. He is also an Associate Fellow at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, [[The University of Manchester]], UK.

== Selected publications ==

* Mukesh Kapila'', [[Against a Tide of Evil]],'' 2013, Pegasus Books, ISBN 978-0991099337<ref name="BMJ 2019" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Herlinger|first=Chris|date=2014-02-15|title=Activists strive to bring attention back to Darfur crisis|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/activists-strive-bring-attention-back-darfur-crisis|access-date=2022-01-22|website=National Catholic Reporter|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Hollingsworth|first=Kimberly|date=15 April 2013|title=Arrest Bashir: My War with Sudan's President|work=Sudan Tribune|url=https://sudantribune.com/article45391/}}</ref><ref>Video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEUWU8JwnDI Against A Tide Of Evil]. Aegis Trust, 2013.</ref>
* Mukesh Kapila, ''No Stranger to Kindness'', 2019, ISBN 979-8506914310<ref name="The Conversation">{{Cite web|title=Mukesh Kapila|url=https://theconversation.com/profiles/mukesh-kapila-1248097|access-date=2022-01-22|website=The Conversation|language=en}}</ref>

== Awards ==
In 2003, he was honoured by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] and named a Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] for his international service.<ref>[https://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/training/hearnet/resource_persons/mukesh_kapila/en/index.html WHO Resource Persons: Dr Mukesh KAPILA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822061335/http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/training/hearnet/resource_persons/mukesh_kapila/en/index.html|date=22 August 2006}}, [[World Health Organization]] biography</ref> In 2007 he received the Dr Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award of the Institute for Global Leadership.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mukesh Kapila|url=https://www.cigionline.org/people/mukesh-kapila/|access-date=2022-01-22|publisher=Centre for International Governance Innovation|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Jan Pronk]]

== Notes and references ==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://mukeshkapilablog.org/ Flesh & Blood: The Blog of Mukesh Kapila]
* {{Official website|http://www.mukeshkapila.org/}}

=== Interviews and articles by Mukesh Kapila===
* [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34872 SUDAN: Interview with Mukesh Kapila, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator], [[Integrated Regional Information Networks|IRIN]], 20 June 2003. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041121055656/http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34872|date=21 November 2004}}
* [https://theconversation.com/comply-or-leave-the-dilemma-facing-humanitarian-agencies-165787 Comply or leave: the dilemma facing humanitarian agencies] (interview with Mukesh Kapila, by Moina Spooner). ''The Conversation'', 9 August 2021.
* [https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/27/sudan-needs-an-exceptional-humanitarian-endeavour-to-end-its-horrific-civil-war Sudan needs an exceptional humanitarian endeavour to end its horrific civil war]. ''[[The Guardian]]'', 27 August 2024.
* [https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2025-04-09-perhaps-the-time-has-come-to-critically-examine-the-wording-of-the-genocide-convention/ Perhaps the time has come to critically examine the wording of the Genocide Convention], ''[[Daily Maverick]]'', 9 April 2025
*[https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2025/05/27/the-gaza-humanitarian-foundation-is-the-best-of-bad-options/ The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is the best of bad options]. ''[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]]'' 27 May 2025.
*[https://www.e-ir.info/2025/06/04/the-philanthropy-of-bill-gates-should-be-taken-with-caution/ The Philanthropy of Bill Gates Should Be Taken with Caution]. ''[[E-International Relations]]'', 4 June 2025

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapila, Mukesh}}
[[Category:1955 births]]

[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Civil servants in the Department for International Development]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to England]]
[[Category:Indian whistleblowers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People of the War in Darfur]]

Mukesh Kapila - Revision history

Ajit3011: Started Initial Data W/ Refs