NIHR Board of Commissioners holds its 3rd Regular Meeting
05 Nov 2017
The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR)’s Board of Commissioners held its 3rd regular meeting under the chairpersonship of Mr. Abdullah Ahmed Al-Derazi, NIHR’s Vice Chairperson, at the NIHR’s headquarters in Seef district. The meeting started with the procedures of electing the President of the Board of Commissioners from among the full-time members, by virtue of the NIHR’s Establishment Law, where Ms. Maria Khouri was elected by acclamation. On this occasion, she expressed her thanks and appreciation to the members of the Board of Commissioners for granting her confidence by electing her as Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners. She said, “We will continue to work in a team spirit together with the NIHR’s General Secretariat, under the chairpersonship of Dr. Khalifa Al-Fadel, to serve the interests of the country and the citizen”, looking forward to the continuation of this giving and collective cooperation from which the Board of Commissioners draws its strength. She added, “From the position of responsibility that you honored me with, I extend my hand to all of you to continue the honest giving and collective work for everything that would promote, protect, support and better develop the human rights.
Ms. Khouri joined the NIHR’s Board of Commissioners in 2013, where she headed the NIHR’s Committee on Complaints, Monitoring and Follow-up, then the NIHR’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She is also a member of the Committee on the Rights of Prisoners and Detainees, a member of the Permanent Committee for the Protection of Victims of Violence at the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Raja School. She has previously worked at the University of Bahrain, Bahrain Radio and TV Authority and a private company. She holds MBA from Indiana University and BA in Psychology and Sociology from Northwestern University in the USA.
On the other hand, the Board of Commissioners unanimously decided to appoint Dr. Khalifa bin Ali Al-Fadel as NIHR’s Secretary-General for four years, renewable for similar periods, for his efforts to improve the work of the General Secretariat during his tenure as Acting Secretary-General, through the development of practical and modern mechanisms for mutual cooperation and coordination between the NIHR and various human rights bodies, as well as his academic qualifications, as he holds PhD of law from the British University of Leeds, MA of Public international law from the University of Leeds, and BA of Law from the University of Bahrain.
Dr. Al-Fadel further holds many important positions at the local and international levels. He has been elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bahrain Center for Strategic and International Studies and Energy and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bahrain Institute for Political Development. He is also a fellow of the British Society for Middle East Studies, a member of the Royal Society of Asian Affairs and a member of the British Human Rights Lawyers Association. He has previously worked as a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Bahrain. He also has a lot of legal books, studies and scientific researches.
During the meeting, the final version of the 5th annual report was reviewed and discussed, and it was adopted in preparation for being printed and delivered to His Majesty the King.
