
Andrew Friedman is a senior fellow in the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Andrew came to CSIS from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he served as a democracy officer with USAID’s Bureau for Africa, providing technical and strategic guidance for democracy, rights, and governance work across the region. He also co-led USAID's Executive Committee on the 2021 Summit for Democracy and coordinated the anti-corruption session of the Civil Society Forum at the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. While with USAID, Andrew joined CSIS's Africa Policy Accelerator, where he also served as a board member. Prior to his time in government, he served as a legal and democratic governance consultant working with various UN agencies, including the Secretariat, UN Women, and multiple UN Development Program Country Offices on constitutional and legal reform, good governance, transitional justice, and human rights. He also occasionally teaches courses in international law, serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Law. He is also a member and contributor to both the International Academy of Constitutional Law and the African Network for Constitutional Lawyers, and he was recognized with an Amicus Mundi award from We The Action for pro bono work assisting in the passage of laws expanding the rights of sexual assault survivors in U.S. states.
In the News
From South Africa and Nigeria to Sudan and Liberia, Trump’s aid freeze is causing chaos
Andrew Friedman in Africa Report — February 10, 2025
Human Rights Priorities for 2025: The Global Landscape
Michelle Strucke and Andrew Friedman in Just Security — January 13, 2025
All Andrew Friedman Content
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The fallout of the U.S. aid freeze in Washington, Abuja, and beyond
Podcast Episode by Catherine Nzuki and Andrew Friedman — February 6, 2025

To Combat Modern Slavery, Incentivize Innovation by Funding the Development of Diverse Supply Chains
Commentary by Andrew Friedman and Michelle Strucke — December 18, 2024
To Combat Modern Slavery, Incentivize Innovation by Funding the Development of Diverse Supply Chains
Podcast Episode by Andrew Friedman and Michelle Strucke — December 18, 2024

Cyber Scamming Goes Global: Sourcing Forced Labor for Fraud Factories
Critical Questions by Lauren Burke Preputnik, Julia Dickson, Aly Senko, and Andrew Friedman — December 12, 2024