Salil Shetty, the former secretary general at Amnesty International, will be joining the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy as a senior fellow for the 2018-2019 academic year.

 “It is a great honor to return to the Harvard University community this fall as a senior fellow," said Shetty in a statement. “This is an exciting new opportunity for me. Most of the challenges we face nationally and globally are rooted in the lack of accountable governance. I look forward to joining the Carr Center and benefit from the rich intellectual resources of Harvard Kennedy School in our collective search for solutions.”

A long-term activist on issues of poverty and justice, Salil Shetty led the movement's worldwide work to end human rights violations and spearheaded a significant shift of Amnesty International's operations to the global south, said a post on Amnesty’s website. The organization, which already has a presence on the ground in more than 70 countries, has recently attracted over a million new members from countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Shetty stepped down from Amnesty International July 8, after holding the position of the secretary-general for eight years, the release said.

Before joining Amnesty International, Salil Shetty was Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign from 2003 to 2010 and Chief Executive of ActionAid.