Assahafa.com
The President of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH), Amina Bouayach, has been unanimously elected as the new chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). The election took place during GANHRI’s General Assembly on Tuesday in Geneva, on the sidelines of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Vladen Stefanov, Head of the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, announced that all national human rights institutions (NHRIs) with A-status accreditation voted in favor of Bouayach. The election of GANHRI’s president and secretary is held under UN supervision.
Bouayach’s candidacy was endorsed by NHRI representatives from all global regions, following her official nomination by the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI). At its General Assembly the previous day at the Palais des Nations, NANHRI formally confirmed her candidacy on behalf of Africa.
With Morocco’s CNDH now leading GANHRI, Africa has regained the presidency of the global alliance—ten years after the last African representative held the role.
Speaking to MAP after the vote, Bouayach expressed her deep honor at the trust placed in her by her African colleagues and human rights defenders worldwide.
The newly elected GANHRI president highlighted the “unwavering collective commitment” of African NHRIs, from North to South, in protecting and promoting human rights. She emphasized their vital role in tackling complex challenges daily in pursuit of this mission.
Bouayach’s election comes at a critical time for GANHRI, which is tasked with advocating within the United Nations while navigating growing pressures on multilateralism and financial constraints affecting NHRIs.
“In a world where rights and freedoms are increasingly under threat, and as both new and long-standing challenges multiply, I see this election as a profound responsibility—one whose magnitude I fully grasp,” she stated.
From the impact of digital and emerging technologies to shrinking civic space, armed conflicts, gender equality, violence against women, climate change, environmental security, and widening economic disparities, Bouayach stressed the need for “renewed vigilance and collective action to ensure no one is left behind.”
She succeeds Qatari Maryam Al Attiyah, President of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), for a three-year term as GANHRI President.
The General Assembly also elected Alyson Kilpatrick (Northern Ireland) as GANHRI Secretary, succeeding Bouayach in that role.
Source: map
