André Abel Barry

André is a civil servant with the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) and has worked for more than 20 years in diplomacy and international cooperation, with a particular focus on countries in crisis and those emerging from crisis. He previously served as a Ministerial Advisor and has also worked at the French Embassies in the Central African Republic (where he was awarded the rank of Commander in the National Order of Recognition), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. This followed his role, notably, in charge of civilian crisis management at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

André has also worked for the United Nations: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Liberia and Guinea; the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI); the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Guinea. He has also contributed to European Union (EU) election observation missions in Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and the DRC. He has contributed to training sessions and courses at the University of Paris I (France), the Institute of Political Studies in Aix-en-Provence (France), Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke (Canada), the Diplomatic Class at Senghor University (Egypt), and in Burkina Faso with the University of Montreal.

André Abel Barry holds a Diploma of Specialized Higher Studies (DESS) in International Relations with a specialization in “arms control and disarmament” (University of Paris-Est), a master’s degree in Political Science (University of Paris-Est), and a bachelor’s degree in Public Law (University of Orléans). He also holds certificates from the Institute for Higher National Defense Studies (IHEDN), the European Security and Defense College (CESD), the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the United States Institute for Peace, and the World Bank.