Ana Garcia-Caro Sanchez (Spain)

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 My name is Ana Garcia-Caro Sanchez and I committed myself to Human rights because I think the work done needs to be continued and improved. I think EMHRN is a very important network in order to defend Human rights in the region. It allows member organisations to share expertise and work together in a more efficient way.

Joumana Merhy ( Lebanon)

  My name is Joumana Merhy and I’m the director of the Arab Institute for Human Rights office in Beirut. Basically, I work for women rights because there’s a big discrimination against the women and I want to work for enhancing the respect of their rights.
To me, the work within the Euro-Mediterranean Human Right Network and networks in general increases the exchange of information and the benefits for the human rights movement, it will lead to bigger and faster changes within the organisation of society in the future.

Delphine Compain (Lebanon)

  My name is Delphine Compain , and I'm a social worker. To me, human rights are the most important thing: all human being should have her/his fundamental rights respected and protected. In the Mediterranean countries, human rights is a key issue and belonging to the Network helps increasing my knowledge about HR violations, getting to know more about members' actions,  collaborating with them on some projects and in the end, benefit from the joined effort.

Mustafa Haid (Syria)

  My name is Mustafa Haid and I'm a member of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies Executive board. I believe in human rights because I think that achieving it is the first step for starting a better future for humanity. As an organisation from the Euro-Med region, I think the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network is a trustful and hard working network...

Ali Tabji (Morocco)

  My name is Ali Tabji and I am a member of the AMDH, the Moroccan Association for the human rights. I committed myself to the defense of human rights to take part in the construction of a state of law but also to resist the violations of the human rights. The AMDH supports many different initiatives in networking… as the Euro-Mediterranean Human rights Network is well structured and organized, to work within the specialized groups often gives interesting results…

Mahmoud Abu Rahma (Palestine)

  My name is Mahmoud. I am from Palestine and work on the capacity of training, communication and int'l coordinator at Al Mezan. Born in a refugee family and living my childhood and youth in a situation of injustice and conflict, I developed a sense of how peoples' life look like when their rights are chronically denied. Under repression, the quest for human rights becomes essential for the integrity of one's community and oneself. Moreover, experiencing injustice made it clearer that a human rights approach was the right response to see justice and dignity a reality in my country and worldwide.
Following years of activism for human rights, I have now developed a career focusing on the promotion of respect and protection of human rights. Last year, this career was supported by academic postgraduate study in the UK. Practice made me deeply believe that giving equal worth for all human beings engender the ethical as well as practical answer to many challenges faced by mankind. They are thus worth fighting for with their tools.

Sawsan Zaher (Israel)

  My name is Sawsan Zaher and I'm an attorney. The fact that I'm committed to human rights comes from personal reasons and background, as I'm a part of a national ethnic minority that is being discriminated against by the state. To work with the Network was quite natural because the EMHRN conciles with the goals of my organisation (Adallah)

Omar Mestiri (Tunisia)

 In the 70’s, I was strongly involved in a left movement which was the main target of repression in Tunisia. We were experiencing an immense disillusion with the questioning of the “socialist model” that wanted to ensure happiness for all citizens but started to show atrocities everywhere it was followed. Then a paradoxical solidarity arose with the “dissidents” of these systems with whom we shared the condition of being persecuted, while at the same time they fought the doctrines that inspired us. Thus  after deep debates and painful questioning, a change took place which made human rights the cardinal stone of my values. Since then, I conceive this activity as being before all, the defense of the rights of the other, even if I do not share her/his ideas or project. The network is for us, militants of the south, a fantastic chain of solidarity which is activated each time one faces threats.  It is also a framework for exchanges. It is finally the magic of a team which manages to do an enormous work with small means.

Panayote Dimitras (Greece)

  My name is Panayote Dimitras and I'm a human rights advocate. I Committed myself to human rights to help improve democracy and human dignity in Greece and in the whole world. Working with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network is a natural process for me as Greece is a Mediterranean country and  I am interested in human rights in the Mediterranean South as well...

Abdeljalil LAROUSSI (Morocco)

  My name is Abdeljalil LAROUSSI, I'm a member of the Espace Associatif in Morocco where I'm leading the mobilization and advocacy section. Morocco knew serious violations of the Human Rights in the past  and in the after-effects are always present today... Our combat for democracy and state of Right is also a combat for protection and promotion of Human Rights.Human Rights are not only laws and texts but a reality that all our citizens should live with dignity... The Network is initially a lever for the protection and the promotion of the Human Rights but it's also a space for dialogue, exchange and synergy between people and structures working in order to achieve the same goals.


Antonia Papadopoulou (Greece)

   My name is Antonia Papadopoulou, I'm a professor of english as a second language and I'm from the Greek Helsinki Monitor. I committed myself to defend human rights because I love helping people reaching their human potential wherever they are irrespective of time and society. I got the opportunity to work with the Network in 2002. Ever since the educational perspective has been a prominent part in my life. EMHRN has provided me the chance to realise human rights aims in the region in which I am born and live, bringing me in contact with people within and across the Euromed borders

Mohammad Zeidan (Israel)

  My name is Mohammad Zeidan, I'm the General Director of the Arab Association for Human Rights, HRA.Human right was in the first place one way to struggle for the rights and dignity of the Palestinian minority in Israel, and for the freedom of the Palestinian people from the Israeli occupation. Now human rights have bigger meaning; human rights became a way of life, education and message to all my people. A way to link us with human beings all over the world, to be part of one universal identity; Human Rights Identity. EMHRN has opened the way to me, and to my association to link up with European NGOS and other twin organizations from the Arab World. To meet, to learn, and to have the opportunity to educate and advocate jointly with others on regional level.

María A. Encinas Cabrero (Spain)

  My name is María A. Encinas Cabrero,  I am a sociologist and I work for ACSUR-Las Segovias as a project desk for our work in Palestine. Human Rights are a basic need for any society and sadly there still is lot to do in order to make this happen, I would like to contribute towards this aim in any possible way or space and that includes EMHRN, as it provides the opportunity to meet people and organisations working towards the same objectives and pursuing the same goal.

Iain Byrne (United Kingdom)

My name is Iain Byrne and I'm an international Human Rights lawyer. I committed myself to the Human Rights to afford the same level of protection of others that I would expect myself as a human being. I decided to work with the Network because it provides an important bridge between European and Mena civil society whilst at the same time promoting the Human rights dimension of the Barcelona process. This is a unique and critical role...

Louis Frankenthaler (Israel)

  My name is Louis Frankenthaler, I'm the development and education director at the Public Committee against Torture in Israel. The primary reason why I work for Human Rights is that I am a father and my children are the most important thing to me. They will never be fully safe if universal Principles of Human Rights are not enforced for everyone, everywhere.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network seems to be the right organisation for national associations not to loose sight of what is happening outside its borders. Being a member offers perspective and it's an important mechanism for exploring HR theory and practice.

Maya Ben Khaled (Tunisia)

  My name is Maya Ben Khaled, I'm a Director assistant in the Human Rights Arab Institute. I studied Social Sciences and worked in several Human Rights NGOs dealing in particular with Women rights. Today, I want to share experiences in the field of Human Rights Education and to work with the EMHRN is a good way to do it.

Redouane Boudjema (Algeria)

My name is Redouane Boudjema, I'm a Communication Sciences Professor in the Algiers University. Before that, I was a journalist and I could see with my own eyes, very severe Human Rights violations. That brought me to work in the Human Rights field. I believe in an open world without hate.
 to me, the creation of the Euro-Mediterranean Network is one of the most important event for Mediterranean those last ten years. It allows activists from the north and the south to develop contacts between them, and that work is useful for the future of a world which today, is economically unfair, socially fragile and politically unstable...

Anitta Kynsilehto (Finland)

 My name is Anitta Kynsilehto and I'm a researcher for the Tampere Peace Research Institute.
Human Rights are a prerequisite for peace and democracy. They belong to all persons, women and men, adults and children. Unfortunately there still is lot to do in order to make them respected. EMHRN focuses geographically on my area of foremost interest. It provides a forum to establish necessary contacts and work together.

Rola J. Badran (Palestine)

My name is Rola Badran and I work for the Palestinian Human Rights Organisation in Lebanon. 

I have studied Business Administration. Currently, I am the Assistant to the General Director of the Palestinian Human Rights Organization – PHRO and the Coordinator of its Human Rights Education Program simply, because I believe in it. I believe that all people shall be equal and we all should respect our each other’s dignity.

As a youth, started with my fifth year in the Human Rights Medium and ninth year in working within civil society organizations, I believe in networking, sharing tasks and responsibilities. My work, through the PHRO, with the network comes within this context. Members should not only hold the name and put it on their websites and official papers and correspondences; it is a matter of sharing for the sake of a mutual membership relation.

Borje sjokvist (Sweden)

My name is Borje Sjokvist, I'm the former President of Swera (Swedish Refugee Aid). I have worked with refugee issues and Human Rights for 35 years in the Red Cross and other NGOs, because I think this is extremely important. To be a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Network and to work in it is crucial because it links Europe to Middle East and African countries.

Hafidha Chekri (Tunisia)

My name is Hafidha Chekri, I'm teaching Law and Political Sciences in the Tunis University. I defend Human Rights because I believe that democracy can exist only if they are respected, and there's a lot to do especially for the rights of women. I made some research about female migration and it was a natural process for me to participate in a EMHRN working group...

Tarek Ben Hiba (Tunisia)

My name is Tarek Ben Hiba and I'm a civil servant in France... I'm also elected as a regional councilor in Ile de France. I'm a Human Rights activist because i think they are the unavoidable base for another world, a better world... I'm a member of the Committee for Respect of Freedom and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT). The organization is a part of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network and I think it's natural, logical that I participate in a EMHRN working group now...

Carmen Pellicer Balsalobre (Spain)

My name is Carmen Pellicer Balsalobre. I' am a social geographer working for ACSUR in Spain. I believe that another world is not only possible, but necessary for women and that's why I decided to commit myself to the development of Human Rights. I want to participate with other NGOs all around the Mediterranean in creating and strenghtening a global citizenship...

Ruba Akila (Palestine)

My name is Ruba Akkila, and I'm a project coordinator for the Network. Human rights help me to live if considered. They are essential for a development process as they create the atmosphere that allows people to think, work, cooperation and be creative. Above all, human rights recognize women as human beings who should be mainstreamed in all fields of life in dignity. I joined the EMHRN  because of its human rights approach. I like the fact that we have actual influence on important decision making.

Saddik Lahrach (Morroco)

My name is Saddik Lahrach, I am a consultant in human rights and I work for promotion of humans right mainly because I was vicitim of serious violations of these rights in my country... The respect of human rights is at the base for a real State of right, and human dignity is developed only through this respect.

I joined the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network to develop synergies and to consolidate networks, which is one of the tasks of a humans rights activist . The Network presents a completely suitable framework to reinforce and develop the respect of human rights in the Euromed area...

Network Gallery

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