Dr. Aicha Elbasri was the spokesperson for the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur when she witnessed first-hand how the UN was obscuring the reality of atrocities being committed against Darfuris and failing to protect civilians. Unwilling to be a part of a mission that was lying to the public, Elbasri resigned eight months into the position and leaked thousands of documents illustrating the operation’s failings to Foreign Policy Magazine. Elbasri’s case garnered widespread international attention and in June 2014, the International Criminal Court called upon the UN to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations. As a result of Elbasri’s disclosures, the UN was pressured to conduct an internal review of the mission.
