Dr Agnès Callamard appointed as the new Secretary General of Amnesty International
Shafaq News/ Amnesty International announced today the appointment of Dr. Agnès Callamard, a leading international human rights expert, as its new Secretary General.
According to Amnesty, Dr. Callamard joins the world’s largest non-governmental human rights organization, having recently been the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. In that role, she led ground-breaking investigations including into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Secretary General is appointed by the International Board of Amnesty for an initial four-year term. Her appointment followed an extensive global search. Dr. Callamard will succeed Acting Secretary General Julie Verhaar.
“I am honored to take up the post of Secretary General and work alongside Amnesty’s supporters around the world so that together we defend and demand respect for all human rights for all," Dr Callamard said.
Dr. Callamard, a French national, “has built a highly distinguished career in the international human rights and humanitarian sectors, working across NGOs, academia, and the United Nations. Alongside her role as a United Nations independent human rights expert, she held the role of Director of the Global Freedom of Expression Project at Columbia University. Previously, she has been the Executive Director of the Freedom of Expression organization ARTICLE 19 and was the founder and Executive Director of HAP International.” Amnesty said.
She worked with Amnesty International from 1995-2001, including as Chef de Cabinet for then-Secretary General Pierre Sané. She has led human rights investigations in more than 30 countries and published extensively on human rights, women’s rights, and freedom of expression, refugee movements, and the methodology of human rights investigations.
As Secretary General, Dr. Callamard will be the Chief Executive of Amnesty’s International Secretariat and the principal spokesperson of the global Amnesty movement, which has some 10 million supporters and offices in more than 70 countries.
