40 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Mark Palmer Award for the Advancement of Democracy Nora S. Brito Safeguarding Democracy in Ukraine While serving in Kyiv between September 2023 and October 2024, Nora S. Brito advanced U.S. strategic goals by ensuring that American security assistance in Ukraine delivered measurable, accountable results. As a program officer in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), Brito helped build institutions, protect war crime victims, and reinforce the integrity of U.S. assistance. She was recognized with AFSA’s 2025 Mark Palmer Award for the Advancement of Democracy for her creative and dedicated work. In the midst of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Brito helped keep Ukraine’s criminal justice system functional under extraordinary pressure. She led the creation of Ukraine’s first-ever Victim Witness Coordination Center, which allowed survivors of war crimes to access professional, trauma-informed support. The center’s creation addressed a critical gap in Ukraine’s prosecutorial process: Previously, victims of torture or sexual violence often endured repeated, retraumatizing interviews. Brito and her team’s initiative provided training for prosecutors and investigators to adopt a victim-centered approach, strengthening evidence collection while preserving victims’ dignity. Her efforts also revitalized Ukraine’s Specialized Anti- Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) by ensuring that training, equipment, and oversight programs were tied to performance benchmarks. These measures produced an 80 percent increase in prosecutions from 2022 to 2023, including high-level corruption cases. Recognizing that success required more than capacity- building, Brito led the campaign to legally secure SAPO’s independence. Drafting a letter on behalf of Group of 7 and European Union (EU) ambassadors, she urged the Ukrainian parliament to strengthen pending legislation. When President Volodymyr Zelensky received her letter, he intervened personally to make the stronger bill’s passage certain. This change kept Ukraine aligned with IMF benchmarks and safeguarded billions in international budget support. She coordinated with Washington and interagency partners to condition $1.1 billion in U.S. assistance on verifiable governance reforms, reinforcing that American aid serves both partner and U.S. taxpayer interests. Her work directly supported U.S. efforts to ensure accountability, transparency, and measurable returns on investment in Ukraine’s reconstruction. These reforms, her supervisor noted in Brito’s nomination, “played a pivotal role in the EU’s decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine,” marking a milestone for both U.S. policy and Ukraine’s aspirations for integration with democratic Europe. To protect U.S. resources and public trust, Brito introduced internal audits, external reviews, and FBI mentorship for Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies. Overseeing INL’s $60 million criminal justice budget, she implemented rigorous safeguards to ensure that every dollar advanced strategic goals. Her stewardship earned recognition for integrity and efficiency among missions of similar size. Beyond Ukraine’s immediate war environment, Brito and Leaders of Ukrainian civil society organizations discuss their efforts to strengthen Ukrainian anti-corruption and criminal justice institutions with (from left) U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Nora Brito. Nora S. Brito
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