Ms. Chandrima Das is a Nonresident Fellow in the Protection of Civilians and Human Security Program. She most recently served as Director of Multilateral Affairs at the National Security Council. While at the White House, she strengthened the U.S. – UN relationship, expanded partnerships with Member States, and advanced more effective UN peacekeeping, peacebuilding and conflict prevention mechanisms. She drove support for UN Security Council resolution 2719 to provide assessed funding for the African Union for Peace Support Operations as well as help build capacity and support for the organization addressing conflicts on the continent. Chandrima assisted with the creation of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) along with ten other countries, including Republic of Korea, Japan, United Kingdom, and France, in order to continue public reporting on North Korea’s violations of the UN Sanctions. She represented the U.S. government and spoke in numerous high-level conferences, including the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra, Ghana.

Prior to serving at the NSC, Chandrima was senior advisor at the Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau at the Department of State where she provided strategic guidance on the bureau’s priorities, including the Global Fragility Act, Negotiation Support Unit, and Atrocity Prevention. She was instrumental in linking the Global Fragility Act to the conflict prevention and peacebuilding work at the UN agencies, including UNDP, IOM, and WFP. 

Previously, Chandrima spent most of her career as an advocate on behalf of the United Nations as the Senior Director of Peace and Security Policy at the Better World Campaign, the advocacy arm of the UN Foundation, where she was the resident expert on UN Peacekeeping Operations.  She spearheaded thought leadership and authored policy papers and field reports on UN Peacekeeping and led Congressional Delegations to the field to see firsthand the work of the UN. Additionally, Chandrima served as a special advisor for the UN High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing.

She resides in Washington and is grateful for her two sweet but mischievous children and her amazing husband. Chandrima has authored many policy papers and articles including at CNN, Mail and Guardian, Defense One and the Hill.