Ellen Kennedy

World Without Genocide in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2022. Kennedy and other World Without Genocide leaders attend international meetings, submit reports, and advocate for an end to genocide and other mass atrocities through the just rule of law.

World Without Genocide is a member of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, American NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and Minnesota Alliance for the International Criminal Court. Kennedy co-produced two documentary films with Twin Cities Public Television, which are available online. 1.

Children of Genocide: Five Who Survived (nominated for a Regional Emmy Award) interviews five people who were children or young adults when catastrophes occurred in their countries. The five represent the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Sudan. Each of them now, as adults, is committed to raising awareness about genocide, with the deep hope that the words ‘never again’ will someday mean ‘never.’

They encourage citizen action to take a stand against genocide. 2. Genocide Again: Darfur follows the story of a young man from Darfur who walked 800 miles to escape the genocide. Experts and peace advocates discuss the history of genocide in Sudan and why it continues today.

Kennedy has written 8 readers’ theater plays about ‘Upstanders,’ people who acted heroically during genocides to rescue others, to tell the truth, or to bring perpetrators to justice despite difficult and dangerous circumstances. The plays are used in schools, faith, and civic organizations across Minnesota and the US. 1.

‘Tents of Witness: Genocide and Conflict’ (2010-19) featured 10 tents like those used in refugee camps, each depicting a group persecuted based on race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin. 2.

‘Genocide and Justice: From Nuremberg to the International Criminal Court’ has been displayed at the Minnesota State Capitol several times, colleges and universities throughout the country, faith organizations, and area theatres. Kennedy has spoken at 980 events to more than 82,000 people (as of March 2026).

She has held programs in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, Wyoming, Washington, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin, and in Armenia, Bosnia, Canada, Cyprus, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.[ 1]

Kennedy has been the representative of World Without Genocide to the United Nations Department of Global Communications.