Academic director and member of the board Janne Nijman joins the PAX Supervisory Board

Academic director and board member Prof. Dr Janne E. Nijman of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and Prof. Dr Tom Groot, Professor of Management Accounting at the VU, have been appointed to the Supervisory Board of PAX.

PAX, which means peace, works with partners and concerned citizens worldwide to protect civilians from war violence, to end armed conflict and to build just and peaceful societies across the globe. PAX aims to achieve this as one organisation with one Supervisory Board and one management. The organisation stems from the peace movements Pax Christi and the Stichting Interkerkelijke Vredesberaad (IKV). Groot has been appointed by the council of Pax Christi, Nijman by the board of the IKV.

Janne Nijman: “I am delighted to be able to contribute to the important peace work of PAX from the Supervisory Board. As a lawyer and academic director of the Asser Institute - the research institute for European and International Law in The Hague - I see every day the importance of (international) law and human rights in the pursuit of peace and security, global and local. With my appointment at PAX, I would like to use my experience and legal knowledge on crucial themes such as peace and security, the protection of refugees and civilians in war situations, disarmament, killer robots and the fight against sexual violence.”

Tom Groot: “I am very motivated to dedicate myself to PAX’s peace work. Because of my background as professor of Management Accounting, my contribution will mainly lie in the area of the financial policy and management of the organisation. However, my motivation reaches deeper: in an earlier position as a bilateral expert for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I worked in El Salvador during a period when this country was plagued by civil war. I have experienced up close how a war tears people, families and communities apart and how difficult it is to achieve a peaceful society that is sustainable. Communities that are facing this challenge will benefit from good help and support."

Marieke de Wal, chairman of the Supervisory Board, is pleased with the additions. “With Tom Groot and Janne Nijman, the Supervisory Board gains two experienced supervisors with a great deal of expertise.”

Groot and Nijman join the Supervisory Board after the resignations of Carla Kuijpers-Groensmit and Sander Smits van Oyen. De Wal: “The management and the Supervisory Board are very grateful for their years of commitment and commitment to our peace movement.”

PAX operates independently of political interests and is supported by a wide group of involved citizens, social organisations and the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN).