David Deng

David Deng is the Managing Director of Detcro, a South Sudanese research and advocacy firm focused on peacebuilding, governance, and human rights. He has worked in South Sudan since 2010, conducting research on land law and policy, transitional justice, and citizen perceptions of peace processes.

After graduating from New York University School of Law (JD, ’10), Deng received a Helton Fellowship to lead a project with the South Sudan Law Society (SSLS), developing community consultation protocols for land-based investments. He served as Research Director at SSLS until 2016, overseeing research on land governance, customary law and dispute resolution, and people’s experiences with justice.

Deng joined Detcro in 2018, where he continues to focus on peacebuilding and justice. That same year, he co-founded the South Sudan Justice Advisory Group (JAG) with the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. JAG provides a platform for South Sudanese and international experts to coordinate long-term justice strategies. Among the programs that JAG has supported in South Sudan are efforts to develop survivor groups in different parts of the country and the promotion of criminal accountability for conflict-related crimes through national courts.