Adam Day

Adam Day

Head of the Geneva Office

Education
Juris Doctor, The University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Education
Masters degree in Law and Diplomacy, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
Education
Masters Degree in Comparative Literature, Brown Univeristy
Education
Doctorate, War Studies, King's College London
Institute
UNU-CPR
Contacts
adam.day@unu.edu

Dr Adam Day is Head of the Geneva Office of United Nations University Centre for Policy Research.

Dr Day oversees programming on peacebuilding, human rights, peacekeeping, climate-security, sanctions, and global governance, while also acting as Research Lead for the Secretary-General's Scientific Advisory Board. 

Prior to joining UNU in 2017, Dr Day served for a decade in the UN, including as Senior Political Adviser to MONUSCO (the Democratic Republic of the Congo), in the UN Special Coordinator’s Office for Lebanon, in the front offices of both UNMIS (Khartoum) and UNAMID (Darfur), and was a political officer in both the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York. Dr Day also has substantial civil society experience, including with Human Rights Watch’s Justice Program and for the Open Society Justice Initiative in Cambodia.

Dr Day was an international litigator in New York, where he also worked pro bono for the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of Guantanamo detainees in their suits against former US officials for torture. He also supported the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

He has published widely in the fields of State-building, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, mediation, conflict resolution, human rights, rule of law, transitional justice, climate-security, the UN Security Council, and global governance.

Dr Day holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, a Master’s in Comparative Literature from Brown University, and a Doctorate from King’s College London’s War Studies Department.

Research Interests: Climate-security; Conflict prevention; Conflict resolution; Countering violent extremism; Peacebuilding; and Peacekeeping.  

Publications

UNDP Kenya

Report

Case Study: Hate Speech

30 Jul 2024

Project

2024 PBF Thematic Review: Synergies between Human Rights and Peacebuilding in PBF-supported Programming

Evaluating the Peacebuilding Fund's role in fostering synergies between human rights and peacebuilding.

30 May 2024

Brief

Elevating the UN Peacebuilding Commission: Proposals for the Summit of the Future

Recommendations to improve the UN’s Peacebuilding Commission ahead of the Summit of the Future.

26 Jan 2024

Media Coverage

Three options for the UN to lead in Gaza

Demands for a ceasefire should continue, but the organisation is capable of much more.

15 Dec 2023

Brief

Elevating the Environment in the Multilateral System

Enabling the UN to play a more meaningful role in a global transition towards a more sustainable relationship with nature.

10 Nov 2023

News

Strengthening the G7’s Role in Conflict Prevention and Resolution

What policy options can the G7 adopt to strengthen its global conflict prevention and resolution role.

07 Dec 2022

Project

Capturing UN Preventive Diplomacy Success: How and Why Does It Work?

The impact the UN can have in conflict settings and the many challenges in linking short-term interventions with longer-term sustainable peace.

01 Apr 2018

Project

Diplomacy and Good Offices in the Prevention of Conflict

A joint flagship study between the UN the World Bank on the prevention of violent conflict.

01 Aug 2017

Blog Post

To Build Consent in Peace Operations, Turn Mandates Upside Down

What the United Nations High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) reforms would mean for peace operations mandates.

19 Jan 2017

See all