Government Partners

ACA is a joint initiative of the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States. The sponsoring agencies for the government partners are the European External Action Service; the European Commission; the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; and the U.S. Department of State.

Senior Leadership

Clint Williamson, Lead Coordinator

Ambassador Clint Williamson (Ret), currently serves as the Lead Coordinator of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) for Ukraine, a joint initiative of the United States, European Union and United Kingdom. He is the Senior Director for International Justice at Georgetown University. He also serves, on appointment by the International Court of Justice, as the Presiding Arbiter of the Brčko Arbitration Tribunal in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Previously, Ambassador Williamson served as Lead Prosecutor of the Brussels-based European Union Special Investigative Task Force (2011-2014), overseeing the investigation of atrocity crimes committed at the end of and in the aftermath of the 1999 war in Kosovo. As Special Expert to the Secretary-General of the United Nations (2010-2011), he coordinated diplomatic, policy and operational support from the UN and donor governments to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia.

He served as US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues (2006-2009), during the Bush and Obama Administrations, leading US diplomatic and policy efforts to prevent and respond to mass atrocities and to further accountability for atrocity crimes globally. During his tenure as ambassador, he concurrently led US diplomatic efforts to secure transfers of detainees from the Guantanamo Detention Facility as those administrations endeavored to move toward closure of the facility.

Prior to his appointment as ambassador, he served for three and a half years at the White House on the National Security Council staff as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Relief, Stabilization and Development and as Director for Stability Operations (2003-2006). During his White House posting, he served in Baghdad as Senior Adviser to the Ministry of Justice in Iraq (2003), reconstituting and leading the work of that ministry in the immediate aftermath of the US invasion. He served similarly as the functional minister of justice, heading the courts, prosecutorial services and prison system in UN-administered Kosovo during his tenure as Director of Justice in the UN Mission in Kosovo (2001-2002).

During his service as a Trial Attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (1994-2001), he led the investigations of atrocity crimes committed by Serbian forces in the attacks on Vukovar and Dubrovnik, Croatia; by the paramilitary group led by Željko Ražnatović, aka “Arkan,” for crimes in Bosnia and Croatia, and by Serbian military and police forces for crimes in Kosovo.

He authored indictments against the accused in all of these cases, including the 1999 case against then-Serbian president Slobodan Milošević – the first ever indictment brought against a sitting head of state by an international tribunal. Prior to his posting to the Yugoslavia tribunal, Ambassador Williamson served as a federal prosecutor in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the U.S Department of Justice and as an Assistant District Attorney in New Orleans. He is a graduate of the Tulane University School of Law and Louisiana Tech University.

Claudio Pala, Deputy Lead Coordinator, EU

Claudio Pala serves as ACA Deputy Lead Coordinator. In this role, he leads operational components of ACA work and supports the Lead Coordinator on coordination with the GPO and appropriate designation of ACA resources. He has more than twenty years of progressive professional experience in the rule of law, justice and human rights fields in Italy, Kosovo, Albania, and Libya.

Previously, Mr. Pala served as International Prosecutor and Deputy Head of Executive Division/Chief Prosecutor in the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX Kosovo); Head of Rule of Law and Human Rights Department at the OSCE Presence in Albania; Head of the Criminal Justice Unit at the European Union Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya); and Vice-Chair of the Interest Group on Transitional Justice and Rule of Law of the American Society of International Law (ASIL); and member of the Co-ordinating Committee of the Interest Group on International Criminal Justice of the European Society of International Law (ESIL).

Wayne Jordash, Deputy Lead Coordinator, UK

Wayne Jordash KC serves as ACA Deputy Lead Coordinator and is the President of Global Rights Compliance. In this role, he works with the Lead Coordinator to ensure the appropriate designation of ACA resources.

Wayne leads the Mobile Justice Teams that are the principal field component of ACA's work. Mr Jordash is a world-leading lawyer specialising in international human rights (IHRL) and humanitarian law (IHL), particularly in high-risk and conflict-affected areas.

Mr Jordash specialises in providing advice to governments, international organisations, corporations, and communities on how to comply with IHRL and IHL, manage human rights risks, and seek redress in the international human rights and criminal law system. He is an internationally recognised expert in the global network of international tribunals, including at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in relation to allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Lead Implementing Entity

Georgetown University

The donor governments have designated Georgetown University as the Lead Implementing Entity for ACA.

As the Lead Implementing Entity, Georgetown University, through its International Criminal Justice Initiative, provides operational and strategic leadership to ACA and coordinates across Implementing Entities to ensure ACA is collectively providing best practices and standardized advice and assistance to the Prosecutor General’s Office and other stakeholders on all aspects of advancing accountability for atrocity crimes. Georgetown has a multidisciplinary, global justice team deployed to Ukraine, consisting of experts who are recognized leaders in their respective fields, including senior international prosecutors, victim and witness support specialists, military analysts, investigators, and environmental crimes experts. Georgetown’s Lead for ACA is Ambassador Clint Williamson, who also serves as ACA Lead Coordinator.

Implementing Entities

European Union Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine)

Established in 2014, the European Union Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine) works closely with its Ukrainian counterparts to expedite a sustainable reform of the civilian security sector, providing strategic advice and practical support for specific reform measures. These reform efforts facilitate Ukraine’s adoption of legislation and practices that are in accordance with EU standards and international principles of good governance and human rights, especially in light of Ukraine’s EU candidate status. After the start of Russia’s full scale invasion, EUAM Ukraine’s mandate was broadened to include support to Ukrainian counterparts on the investigation and prosecution of international crimes, including in liberated territories. The EUAM Head of Mission is Ambassador Rolf Holmboe. Overseeing EUAM’s work in ACA are Chief of Operations Lynn Sheehan and the Head of the International Crimes Component, Andrew Carney.

Global Rights Compliance (GRC)

Global Rights Compliance is an international partnership made up of international lawyers and development experts with one mission: achieving justice through the innovative application of international law. GRC specializes in on-the-ground international humanitarian law and human rights issues in conflict-affected and high-risk areas around the world, working to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts. GRC works in Ukraine in support of the Prosecutor General’s Office through several GRC Mobile Justice Teams (MJTs), a component of the UK, EU, and US’ Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, that assist the GPO by providing crime scene evidence collection and analysis and real-time advice on investigations and case building. GRC’s headquarters for the ACA project are in Kyiv, Ukraine. GRC’s MJTs operate throughout Ukraine in areas of interest to the GPO. Wayne Jordash KC, the Director of GRC, is a world-leading lawyer specializing in international human rights and humanitarian law, particularly in high-risk and conflict-affected areas. See more.

International Development Law Organization (IDLO)

The International Development Law Organization is the only global intergovernmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law to advance peace and sustainable development. IDLO has experience working in more than 90 countries around the world with various legal systems. IDLO’s network includes thousands of trusted experts, alumni and partners. Established as an intergovernmental organization in 1988, IDLO has had United Nations Observer Status since 2001. IDLO is providing technical support and assistance to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office and selected law-enforcement agencies on a wide range of topics, including in relation to the proper interpretation and application of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, international criminal law and human rights standards, as well as international cooperation and mutual legal assistance and issues of prosecutorial strategy. In particular, IDLO has provided focused assistance on questions related to targeting of civilian objects during armed conflict, the legal framework governing environmental war crimes and the international provisions governing crimes committed against children under international law. IDLO’s Co-leads for ACA are Fabricio Guariglia, Director of IDLO’s The Hague Branch Office, and Levan Duchidze, IDLO Country Manager for Ukraine. See more.

Pravo-Justice

Pravo-Justice is an EU-funded project that promotes greater rule of law in Ukraine, in line with European standards and comparative practices. Pravo-Justice seeks to advance rule of law in Ukraine through expert guidance on justice sector policy and coordination, judiciary reform and support to judicial authorities, protection of property rights, and digital solutions for justice. The Project also focuses on supporting Ukraine in promoting domestic and international accountability framework for core international crimes under ACA umbrella. This is done through diverse activities and with a composite team comprised of high-level international and national experts. Pravo-Justice’s work for ACA is led by Tinatin (Tinna) Goletiani, a Georgian lawyer and consultant with a public international law background who has been advising governments and international bodies on diverse issues of international law, international humanitarian law, human rights, good governance and anti-corruption for over 9 years.