Our Team
Our Team
Sylvester Sammie
Co-founder and Executive Director
Sylvester Sammie is co-founder and Executive Director of Justice and Accountability Worldwide. He is an expert in international criminal law and international human rights law with 18 years of experience. Prior to founding JAW, Sylvester held various leadership positions at the United Nations, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, where he investigated serious international crimes and advised governments on judicial reforms to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of international crimes.
He is also interested in the academic side of international criminal law and has lectured at conferences and published articles and books. His latest book addresses the ways and means to link high-level accused to sexual and gender-based crimes in international criminal law. Sylvester holds a PhD in International Criminal Law, an LLM in International Criminal Law, and a Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law.
Alexandra Viola
Head of Programmes
Alexandra Viola is co-founder and Head of Programmes at Justice and Accountability Worldwide. She has more than 10 years of experience in the field of human rights and witness protection and has worked with the International Criminal Court, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and various human rights NGOs in Africa and Europe.
Alexandra is also an expert in gender, diversity, equality, and inclusion. She is an ILO certified Participatory Gender Audit Facilitator and has helped organizations assess their gender policies and programs. She has also worked with FAO to address gender inequality issues. She holds an LLM degree in International Criminal Law and a Master’s degree in International Relations and Political Science. She is fluent in English, French, and Italian.
