Pierre Sané was responsible for the day-to-day management of the international affairs of this human rights movement, headed the International Secretariat in London, and represented the movement to governments, international organizations and the general public. Pierre Sané had joined Amnesty International in 1988. He served as Secretary General of Amnesty International from 1992 to 2001. In 1993 Pierre Sané led Amnesty International's delegation at the World Conference on Human Rights, and played the same role in 1995 at the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing. He addressed the United Nations Security Council in September 1997, briefing the members on the theme of human rights and armed conflict. This was followed by a meeting with the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. In both meetings, Pierre Sané stressed that attention to human rights issues can not only provide early warning of potential conflict but also enhances the chances of establishing a lasting peace. He also addressed the Permanent Council of the Organisation of American States (Washington) calling for a moratorium on the death penalty in the Americas (1998). In 1998, Pierre Sané led the worldwide campaign to mark the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, focussing the attention of the world on the threats against human rights defenders in many countries. He presided over the Human Rights Defenders Summit in Paris in December 1998 and called on the international community to rededicate itself to the values and principles of the UDHR. Under his leadership, Amnesty International was extensively reorganized with introduction of strategic planning, evaluation, internal audit, central fund-raising and crisis response. He recruited a new management team to adjust AI to new challenges, and initiated decentralization, opening offices in post conflict countries. Work for UNESCO In his capacity as Assistant Director General for the Social and Human Sciences, Pierre Sané was responsible for the development, execution and evaluation of programmes such as: Social Science Research and Policy (International Migration and Multicultural Policies, International cooperation in Social Sciences, Youth and Sports) Human Rights and Philosophy (Human Rights and Development, Gender and Women’s Rights, Racism and discrimination) Ethics of Science and Technology (Bioethics, Science Ethics and Ethics of the Environment) Work for IMAGINE AFRICA Founder and President of Imagine Africa: Imagine Africa is a think tank dedicated to the strengthening of research policy linkages in Africa and on Africa in order to improve the quality of public policies. In particular