Press Release: The AOHR’s General Assembly Elects Board of Trustees for 2026–2029
Cairo, evening of 25 September 2026
The 12th General Assembly of the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) concluded its proceedings in Cairo with the election of the Board of Trustees for the 2026–2029 term.
The General Assembly comprises representatives of AOHR’s member organizations and members of the outgoing Board of Trustees. Its meeting had been postponed more than once this year because of exceptional circumstances affecting the Arab region.
The Assembly began by electing Mr. Nabil Abdel Hafiz of Yemen as its chair and Ms. Kamilia Boutamou of Morocco as rapporteur. It then approved the outgoing Board’s activity and financial reports for the term that began in August 2022 and extended to September 2026.
The Assembly appointed an election committee from among its observers to oversee the vote. Its members were Mr. Ali Al-Mousawi of Algeria, Dr. Balqis Al-Najjar of Kuwait, Mr. Yamen Al-Madhoun of Palestine and Mr. Mostafa Abdelkabir of Tunisia.
By direct secret ballot, the Assembly elected 20 members to the new Board of Trustees from among 28 candidates who had applied before the Assembly’s meeting in March 2024. A 29th candidate withdrew hours before the meeting. A supplementary ballot was held after two candidates received an equal number of votes.
Members of the Board of Trustees for 2026–2029, listed in the alphabetical order provided with the results of the 12th General Assembly on 25 September 2026:
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position / Affiliation |
| 1 | Dr. Al-Hassan Al-Idrissi | Morocco | Former President of the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights |
| 2 | Mr. Boubker Larko | Morocco | Former President of the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights |
| 3 | Ms. Jahda Kamel Abu Khalil | Lebanon | Director-General of the Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities – Lebanon |
| 4 | Ms. Rana Ahmed Ghanem Al-Dubai | Yemen | Secretary-General of the Social Democratic Forum |
| 5 | Dr. Siham Abdulwahab Mohammed Al-Furaih | Kuwait | President of the National Society for Child Protection and Vice-President of the National Diwan for Human Rights – Kuwait |
| 6 | Mr. Diaa Al-Din Al-Shammari | Austria / Iraq | President of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Central Europe |
| 7 | Dr. Abdel Basset Ben Abdelmoumen Ben Hassan | Tunisia | President of the Arab Institute for Human Rights |
| 8 | Mr. Abduljalil Yousif Ali Abdullah | Bahrain | General Coordinator of the Bahrain Human Rights Society |
| 9 | Dr. Abdel Moneim Mansour Ali Al-Hurr (Vice-Chair) | Libya | Secretary-General of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Libya |
| 10 | Mr. Essam El-Din Ahmed Taha Shiha | Egypt | President of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights |
| 11 | Mr. Issam Hassan Hussein Younis (Secretary-General) | Palestine | Director of Al Mezan Center for Human Rights |
| 12 | Mr. Alaa Sayed Kamel Shalaby (Chair) | Egypt | Lawyer and Chair of AOHR’s Board of Trustees |
| 13 | Mr. Omar Qasim Almasalmeh | Syria / Netherlands | Secretary-General of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Northern Europe |
| 14 | Mr. Kamal Ahmed Mahmoud Younis Al-Mashriqi | Jordan | Human rights expert specializing in refugee rights and member of AOHR’s Board of Trustees |
| 15 | Mr. Lakhdar Ben Mokhtar Ben Said (Executive Committee member) | Algeria | Member of the Algerian League for Human Rights |
| 16 | Dr. Mohammed Salem Mohammed Rashid Al-Kaabi (Executive Committee member) | United Arab Emirates | Former President of the Emirates Human Rights Association |
| 17 | Mr. Mohamed Mohamed Fayek | Egypt | Former minister, former President of the National Council for Human Rights and former Secretary-General of AOHR |
| 18 | Mr. Mahmoud Mohamed Hassan Qandil | Egypt | Lawyer before the Court of Cassation, international human rights expert and member of AOHR’s Board of Trustees |
| 19 | Ms. Maha Barjas Hammoud Al-Barjas (Treasurer) | Kuwait | President of the Human Line Organization |
| 20 | Dr. Nevine Abdel Moneim Mosaad (Executive Committee member) | Egypt | Professor of Political Science at Cairo University and member of the National Council for Human Rights |
The newly elected Board of Trustees held its first procedural meeting, chaired by Mr. Diaa Al-Shammari. He thanked the outgoing Board for its efforts over the preceding four years, during which it faced numerous internal and external challenges.
The Board concluded its meeting by forming its Executive Committee as follows:
- Chair of the Board of Trustees: Mr. Alaa Shalaby, Egypt
- Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees: Dr. Abdel Moneim Al-Hurr, Libya
- Secretary-General: Mr. Issam Younis, Palestine
- Treasurer: Ms. Maha Al-Barjas, Kuwait
- Executive Committee members: Dr. Nevine Mosaad, Egypt; Mr. Lakhdar Ben Said, Algeria; and Dr. Mohammed Salem Al-Kaabi, United Arab Emirates.
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