David Hamburg to Head United Nations Genocide Prevention Advisory Group

Carnegie Corporation president emeritus David Hamburg has been appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to chair the newly formed United Nations Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention. The committee will provide guidance and support to the work of the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan E. Méndez, and contribute to the broader efforts of the UN to avert massive crimes against humanity. Nobel Peace Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa; Roméo Dallaire of Canada, former Force Commander of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda; Sadako Ogata of Japan, former High Commissioner for Refugees, and other distinguished advisors in the areas of human rights, peacekeeping and diplomacy have also been appointed to the committee.

“David Hamburg is a wise and tireless activist in the cause of peace,” says Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “His history of leadership in the fields of research and public policy, and his preventive orientation to serious global problems make him the ideal choice for this prestigious appointment. I congratulate him on this highly deserved honor.”

A psychiatrist with a history of leadership in the fields of public policy, research and behavioral science, Hamburg has long brought his preventive orientation to bear on serious global problems.

It was during his tenure as president, from 1982 to 1997, that the Corporation embarked on an intense pursuit of peace in potential conflict situations. The Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict (CCPDC), which Hamburg co-chaired with Cyrus Vance, endorsed a three-part strategy of prevention—early response; counteracting of risk factors and resolution of fundamental causes of violence. Through its reports, analyses and conferences, CCPDC helped to make the prevention of deadly conflict a priority concern for the United Nations as well as the wider global community. Today, the Corporation continues to focus on the challenges of achieving international peace and ensuring global security.

Andrew Carnegie created Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1911 to promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." As a grantmaking foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out Carnegie's vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim "to do real and permanent good in the world." The Corporation's capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $2.2 billion on September 30, 2005. The Corporation awards grants totaling more than $80 million a year in the areas of education, international peace and security, international development and strengthening U.S. democracy.