Quick Facts
Biography
Joy Ngozi Ezeilo is a Nigerian professor of public law and a six-year United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking persons in Africa. She is a former Commissioner for Gender and Social Development, Enugu State, a senior advocate of Nigeria and an activist. She was a former Dean and HOD of faculty of law University of Nigeria Nsukka and the founder of the Women Aid Collective (WACOL). She is a receipent of Officer of the Order of Niger (OON) and one of the 2022 BBC 100 Women
Early life and education
Joy was born in 1966 at Enugu in Nigeria. She earned her Ph.D. in Nigeria, LLM in London LL.B. also in Nigeria BL, Diploma, Peace & Conflict Resolution in Uppsala.
Administrative appointments
Joy was part of the United Nations Civil Society Advisory Board on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse between Feb 2019 to Feb 2022. In 2013, she was selected by the UN Secretary-General as one of the members of the Board of Trustees UN Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking that is managed by the UNODC Vienna, Austria. In Nigeria, She is the Chairperson ofthe Sexual Assault Referral Network (SARC), a co-chair of Africa AdvisoryCommittee, Human Rights Watch, Africa Division, and a Council Member Human Rights Institute of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). Between 2012 and 2015, Ezeilo was nominated as a Commissioner for Gender and Social Development in Enugu State.
Awards
In 1995, Joy won British Chevening School. In 1998, she won MacArthur Leadership Funds Award. In2006 she was honoured with a Nigerian Government national honour of Officer of the Order of Nigeria (OON) by President Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR). In 2013,she was named in Newsweek & Daily Beast of 125 Women of Impact worldwide. In 2019, she won the National Human Rights Award and on the 5th March 2022 she was given the civil society award of Excellence by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In 2022, she was awarded as one of the 2022 BBC 100 Women.