Our newest story in focus series – Meet the Makers will shift the focus on our team members who play key roles on the different elements of our conflict and hunger work. The latest in the series is Prachiti Venkatraman who is a Legal Adviser with GRC.
Q1: Tell us a little about yourself.
My name’s Prachiti, pronounced exactly as it is written (just sound it out, you’ll get it 
). My family are from Mumbai, India, but I was born and raised in Muscat, Oman. I grew up around the Arabian sea, rocky mountains, the smell of oud, 50°c summers and a million shades of brown- it’s a beautiful place and I really recommend visiting, preferably in the winter when cooler climes prevail.
Q2: What did you want to be when you grew up?
Ever since I was around 10 years old and learnt about the existence of the UN, I’ve always wanted to do work at the international level. I think it had something to do with growing up as an expat and not quite having a clear sense of (national) identity- I liked the idea of something bigger than national borders.
Q3: What was your first job?
My first job out of university was as an arbitration lawyer. It involved a lot of long hours and gruelling work, but it gave me skills that have been the gift that keep on giving as I have moved onto roles and work that I am more passionate about.
Q4: What are you working on now?
My focus within the Starvation project is primarily on matters related to Tigray and Yemen, our Starvation Training Manual, and exploring ways to address starvation crimes, including through the use of sanctions. Recently, I have been working extensively on the Tigrayan conflict, engaging with OSINT investigations and exploring options for action and accountability, while also working on converting our Starvation Manual into a mobile app- watch this space for updates!
Q5: What do you love most about this work?
The diversity of matters I’ve worked on and tasks I’ve engaged with. No two days are the same- I could be drafting legal submissions to high-level, including UN, policymakers one day and organising an advocacy-oriented event the next. The Starvation project aims to address starvation crimes holistically, using a range of legal and policy tools, and as someone who firmly believes in the need for a multi-pronged approach to address the various intersecting causes and impacts of atrocity crimes, it is gratifying to be able to do this in practice.
Q6: What is the most challenging part?
How overwhelming the work can get at times. We spend a lot of time dealing with harrowing facts and situations, and sometimes, it’s hard not to feel a bit hopeless and futile about the prolonged conflicts and hunger and the repeated cycles of violence that humans inflict on one another. But in those moments, I like to remind myself of the determination of my colleagues and our partners who fight the good fight, and remember that we have to try to change things if we have any hope of making a better future and rendering the use of starvation as a weapon of war obsolete.
Q7: What would be the one thing that surprised you about the work on conflict and hunger?
That despite the overwhelming evidence that hunger and starvation are not merely by-products of armed conflict but actively caused by it, many people (including, policymakers) are resistant to the idea and continue to frame wartime starvation as a purely humanitarian issue. With increased coverage of starvation issues in news reports and wider awareness views are slowly changing, but we still have some ways to go before the myths and presumptions surrounding conflict-induced hunger are dismantled.
Q8: Tell us a surprising or a fun fact about you.
I enjoy baking, but don’t have a sweet tooth at all. So I end up giving way most of my baked goods and love bringing sweet treats to share at work, as most of my colleagues can attest.
