Patricia Elias

Patricia Elias is an international lawyer, former UN Women Senior Advisor, women's rights advocate and Senior Gender Expert. Her work advances women's participation, empowerment and leadership, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and the elimination of violence against women and girls through the rule of law.

As former Chief of Global Diplomatic Campaign at Every Woman, she represented the organisation in discussions with world leaders and led high-level advocacy negotiations with governments, UN entities and civil society to end violence against women and girls. She helped increase support from four to 18 countries and expanded the global coalition to more than 4,000 NGOs and activists across 165 countries.

A certified UN Women trainer, public speaker and legal reform advocate, she is recognised for strategic diplomacy, global advocacy campaigns, movement-building and leadership across cultures. Her humanitarian work includes building an orphanage in Cameroon and working with street children in Gabon. She received the French Medal of Associative Commitment from the mayor of Paris and Île-de-France.

She is G100 Global Chair for Governments and Ministerial Advocacy and the initiator of the Global Petition: No Peace Without Women. The call was launched at the UN in Vienna and the French Senate, with a live broadcast from UN Headquarters during the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70). It received support from five States and seven NGO CSW networks, including New York, Vienna, Geneva, Latin America, Arab States and Asia Pacific.

In 2026, she received the 'Exceptional Women of Peace' award.