Intelwatch welcomes new Executive Director

Intelwatch is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Executive Director, Paula Cristina Roque, PhD, who takes over leadership of the organisation from 1 February 2024.

Paula is an author, researcher, and analyst with extensive expertise in human rights, security, and surveillance in Africa. She has served as an advisor on Sub-Saharan Africa for the Crisis Management Initiative as well as a Senior Analyst for Southern Africa with the International Crisis Group (ICG). Previously, she worked as a Senior External Advisor for the South Sudan-Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies and a Senior Researcher for the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). She has also served as the China in Africa Research Co-ordinator for the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIA), as a journalist in West Africa and the United Kingdom, and in 2020 founded a non-profit organisation Changes for Humanity that operates across the global South funding transformative community projects. Paula holds a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Oxford, a MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, and a BA in Social Anthropology from the Instituto Superior de Ciencias do Trabalho e da Empresa (ISCTE).

Paula will lead Intelwatch’s ongoing efforts to promote democratic oversight of state and private intelligence agencies, monitor and report on surveillance activities, raise awareness of the risks of undemocratic intelligence and surveillance activities, and advocate for progressive laws and policies that safeguard fundamental rights.

Murray Hunter, who was seconded by ALT Advisory to serve as Intelwatch’s acting Executive Director in 2023, will continue to provide operational support during the transition period.