Thomas Fessy

Thomas Fessy is a former senior Democratic Republic of Congo researcher. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch’s Africa division, he worked for BBC News for nearly 15 years, 10 of which he spent in Africa as a foreign correspondent. From 2008 to 2010, he was based in Congo with BBC News reporting in both English and French. Thomas then moved to Dakar in Senegal from where he covered West and Central Africa for the BBC. He has covered a number of conflicts from Congo to Ivory Coast, from Mali and Lake Chad to the Central African Republic. He has also reported from the frontlines of the war against ISIS in Iraq, from Israel/Palestine and Europe. He has extensively worked on migration issues from the Sahel to Athens and Calais exposing people’s smuggling, teenage prostitution and the plight of unaccompanied children.

Thomas also has experience in media development and political analysis.

He is a French national who speaks English and Spanish. He holds a Masters in International Journalism from City University (London) and a BA in History from La Sorbonne (Paris).