Abbe Jolles is counsel to the American Council on Women, Peace and Security. She is a Washington, D.C.-based international human rights litigator representing clients worldwide, including those in conflict zones. She serves as a corporate human rights advisor to global corporations and is founding member and executive officer of Hear Their Cries, an organization dedicated to ending child sex abuse in the international aid industry.
Abbe represents clients around the world who face workplace disputes, including before the United Nations Dispute and Appeals Tribunals, in New York, Nairobi, and Geneva. She advises members of the U.S. Congress on human rights issues, has testified before the Congress, and advises Congressional witnesses including whistleblowers.
Abbe has achieved several “firsts” in the field of international law. She is the first American woman admitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the first American admitted to the African Court on Human and People’s Rights. She achieved a landmark ruling, a historical first, in the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR) and is a recognized expert on incitement to genocide. She is admitted to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where she served on the Discipline Council, and the Special Tribunal of Lebanon.
Abbe attended Antioch College (Yellow Springs, Ohio), London School of Economics (London, UK), and the University of Oregon School of Law (Eugene, Oregon). She is admitted to the Washington, D.C. Bar. She speaks French and English.