Maria Kurinna is a Ukrainian human rights defender, former diplomat, researcher, Japan-Ukraine expert, SCOs capacity development expert, internally displaced person from Luhansk. She has a strong record of international advocacy experience promoting the rights of women and girls in Ukraine, IDP rights, and accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity. Maria is an advocate at the UN HRC, OHCHR, UN GA, CEDAW, CoE, European Parliament and world capitals.

Maria is the international human rights advocacy manager at Human Rights House Crimea and an advisor at ZMINA Human Rights Centre, which is part of the Ukraine 5 AM Coalition. Maria coordinated the “Women of Ukraine: engaged, capable, invincible” project supporting capacity development of grass-root women organizations. Kurinna joined the International Center for Ukrainian Victory to contribute to Ukrainian civilian women leaders' efforts to speed up Ukraine's victory from the human rights perspective. She is an alumna of the Swedish Academy for Young professionals, an UK FCDO Chevening scholarship holder, and studied at the University of Essex. Maria speaks English, Japanese, and Spanish.