Most Influential People Who Helped Curb Armed Violence

Binalakshmi Nepram

Binalakshmi Nepram, the Co-founder of Control Arms Foundation India, which is India’s first civil society organization, is a writer and a social activist who is today spearheading on various works to make disarmament a meaningful movement and issue.

In the year 2007, Binalakshmi founded the Manipur Women Gun Survivor Network (MWGSN) in one of the most disturbed areas of India, especially to support women who are the victims of gun violence. The MWGSN group mainly works towards giving a new life to the affected women of gun violence by providing loans to cover school fees, medical bills and legal assistance. The untiring efforts of Bina have today brought smiles to the faces of all these women.

She was conferred with WISCOMP Scholar of Peace in 2006, Sean MacBride Peace Prize in 2010 and in the 2011 was named Indian of the Year for her Public service towards women and disarmament issues.

Navi Pillay

Navi Pillay, a South African national of Indian Tamil origin was the first non-white woman to serve on the South Africa’s High Court post-apartheid in 1995. She was the one who defended anti-Apartheid activists in the court. Formerly, Pillay served as the president of the Rwanda Tribunal and also as the judge of the International Criminal Court.

Pillay was appointed as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2012 following the approval of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She is today one of the influential personalities in the world who leads the United Nations human rights efforts and acts as the voice for the voiceless and the victims all over the world.