Hadeel Ibrahim, founding Executive Director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, will join the newly created Global Council of the Secretary General of Amnesty International, a forum that will see leaders in the arts, business and philanthropy work together to further human rights.
The founding members of the Global Council have been appointed by Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Salil Shetty, to contribute expertise from their respective sectors and to help raise support for Amnesty International and its human rights priorities. They have agreed to act as champions for the world’s first and largest human rights movement as it looks to grow in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
On her appointment, Hadeel Ibrahim, who also sits on the Boards of Femmes Africa Solidarité and the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, said:
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation deeply respects the work of Amnesty International. Through the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, we measure how governments across the continent are performing against a wide range of indicators – in which Amnesty International’s priorities, such as political participation, the rule of law, and human rights, feature heavily. I’m delighted to have this opportunity to work with Secretary General Salil Shetty and Amnesty International.
The other founding members of the Global Council members are: the author Paulo Coelho; philanthropist Lord Michael Levy; Tanzanian entrepreneur Ali Mufuruki; financier and philanthropist Krishna Rao; and education entrepreneur Sunny Varkey. Secretary General Salil Shetty said: “I am very grateful to all of those who have accepted my invitation to join the Global Council. I know they will bring invaluable support as we seek to ensure Amnesty’s growth around the world.”
Amnesty International will see 10 new regional offices open in major cities across the world by 2017, as the organisation aims to build membership and human rights support throughout the global South and East. The first regional offices will open in Dakar, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and Nairobi by the end of 2013 – to build on the national presence the organisation already has in 54 countries around the world.
