Benjamin Smith

Mediation Support Manager: Organised Crime & Peacemaking, Mediation Support and Policy (MESU)
  • Joined HD in 2018. Works as thematic lead for organised crime, illicit economies and peacemaking within MESU and manages HD’s work in Colombia.
  • Member of three expert groups: the UN High-Level Expert Group on Transnational Crime, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime network of experts, and the Centre on Armed Groups network of experts.
  • Before joining HD, worked for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the UN Mediation Support Unit, and different UN peacekeeping missions. Has been based in South Sudan, Nepal, Timor-Leste and Thailand.
  • Master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the University of Oxford.