Ketty Nivyabandi is a human rights defender and a passionate advocate for social justice. She was forced to flee her home country of Burundi in May 2015, after she mobilized and successfully led a series of peaceful protests.
As a refugee and human rights defender, she has testified before the Canadian House of Commons Sub-Committee on International Human Rights on ongoing human rights violations in her country, particularly against women. She regularly speaks on refugee issues, democracy and human rights –with a particular focus on female human rights defenders– and the effects of conflict on women’s intimate lives. She was a founding member of Burundi’s Women and Girls Movement for Peace and Security, an apolitical organisation ensuring women have a seat at the peacemaking table.
As of 2021 she was Secretary-General of Amnesty International Canada and a member of Canada’s Women, Peace and Security Network.
Ketty studied International Relations, and is a published poet.
