George Huber is the Senior Attorney for Strategic Planning at the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT), Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, where he plans and designs rule of law initiatives within DOJ and with other agencies of the U.S. Government. Previously, he was the OPDAT Acting Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe, and prior to that, he was the OPDAT Acting Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East, where he supervised justice sector assistance programs in those regions. In addition to his role in OPDAT, he is currently Security Sector Assistance (SSA) Coordinator for DOJ, in which capacity he coordinates efforts to ensure DOJ meets its obligations under Presidential Policy Directive 23, as well as DOJ’s participation in U.S. Government SSA to other countries. Mr. Huber brings to DOJ ten years of experience working with the United Nations on a range of peacekeeping and international justice issues. From 1998 to 2000, he worked in the Office of the Prosecutor at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where he was a member of international teams investigating and prosecuting violations of humanitarian law. From 2000 to 2008, he worked at the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), where he served as Deputy Chief of Staff.
Growing up in the port city of New Orleans, Mr. Huber saw from a young age the ways in which the United States is connected to other parts of the world, and he has gained a deep appreciation for the role of rule of law and a strong framework of international norms in bolstering those connections. As he puts it, “Although the United States makes a lot of headlines, we are in an interconnected environment. So much of what the United States does is dependent on what happens in other places. It is in our interest and everyone’s interest to have strong and healthy relations with as many others as possible.”
Mr. Huber’s experience, both at DOJ and the UN, has shown him that it is crucial for all relevant stakeholders to maintain open and frank communication when engaging in rule of law or justice sector programming. “We’re all in this together,” he says. “We need all the relevant players at the table to be part of the process, from day one and throughout the process. Not everyone has to agree, but they have to communicate.” He cites his peacekeeping work with the United Nations as an example. Given a broad mandate under UN Security Council Resolution 1244, UNMIK exercised executive authority in Kosovo, with an eye toward gradually transferring competencies to local actors. In terms of administering the overall justice system of Kosovo, UNMIK worked with both international and local actors to plan and prepare for the eventual transition of justice functions. The first step was to establish joint international-local interim structures followed by capacity building of local partners that ultimately led to incremental transfers of authority over law enforcement and justice institutions from the international community to Kosovars. Mr. Huber notes that his team “had to make sure their local counterparts were onboard with the planning and implementation at each stage, or the process wouldn’t work.”
Mr. Huber has praised JUSTRAC for its work in promoting the kind of communication and collaboration that he sees as vital to the success of rule of law programming. “I am thrilled to be a part of JUSTRAC,” he says. “JUSTRAC works to make sure everyone is on the same page.” The Rule of Law Collaborative appreciates the expertise and support of experienced practitioners like George Huber, which help to make JUSTRAC a successful forum for greater cooperation.