Nichola Sabelo

Nichola Sabelo

Senior Adviser | Peace and Security

Nichola Sabelo serves as a Senior Adviser, responsible for conflict prevention, security sector reform, peace and security in Africa, and women, peace and security.

She has more than 10 years of diplomatic experience, having joined the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa in 2007.

She served as a First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of South Africa from 2011 to 2015. During South Africa’s tenure on the Security Council from 2011 to 2012, she worked as an expert on Sudan and South Sudan; Women Peace and Security; and Conflict Prevention and Resolution. Additionally, she handled issues in the General Assembly’s Second and Third Committees, covering social development; the Commission for Population and Development; health; human rights; and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). During South Africa’s chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China in 2015, she chaired the Group’s coordination during the Commission for Social Development and Commission on Population and Development.

 At South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Nichola served as the Minister’s Speechwriter and worked in the African Union Political Division, as well as on bilateral desks covering countries such as Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan.

Nichola holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Studies from the University of Cape Town and an Honours degree in International Relations from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.