GLOBAL CHILD PROTECTION EXPERT AND FORMER DIRECTOR, CHILD PROTECTION, PROGRAMME DIVISION, UNICEF

Cornelius Williams is a highly respected expert with over 35 years of experience in global child
protection programming and child rights advocacy. He has worked with international organisations
like UNICEF and Save the Children to improve protection for children from exploitation, violence,
and abuse.

As the former Global Director for Child Protection at UNICEF, Cornelius led several humanitarian
and developmental programmes in various child protection areas. He has served on multiple
Advisory Boards, including ID4Africa, CPC Learning Network, and Changing the Way We Care.
Cornelius has served on several UN committees, such as the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on
Female Genital Mutilation and the Global Programme to End Child Marriage. He was also part of the
UN Legal Identity Taskforce, the Global Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Group and the Core
Group of Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics.

His work continues to shape global strategies to safeguard children’s right to legal identity and
protection from exploitation, violence, and abuse. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for
the Consortium for Street Children and the Policy Board of WeProtect Global Alliance to End Child
Sexual Exploitation Online. He also serves as a board member at Maestral International, focusing on
advancing children’s rights and well-being.He also collaborates with Child Identity Protection as an
expert on children’s legal identity. He is an affiliate of the Humanitarian Development Program
Initiatives, contributing to global efforts to address humanitarian and developmental challenges.

Cornelius is a national of Sierra Leone and holds a Master of Arts in International Child Welfare
from the University of East Anglia in the UK.

For more information, visit Cornelius Williams’ LinkedIn page: Cornelius Williams