Today at ENNHRI’s General Assembly meeting in Brussels, the network’s members have elected new representatives for crucial governance positions at both ENNHRI and GANHRI. A new ENNHRI Chair and Board and GANHRI Secretary have been selected, among other roles. During the General Assembly, members also kicked off development of ENNHRI’s new Strategic Plan, reflected on recent milestones, and discussed the thematic priority of securitisation.

Elections for governance positions

ENNHRI members elected the new ENNHRI Chair, Board Members, Finance Committee Chair, and Finance Committee members. In addition, they selected representatives for various GANHRI governance positions, including the new GANHRI Secretary.

Discover below who the elected officer holders are. All their terms start in March 2025, aside from the SCA Alternate Member who begins in post immediately.

ENNHRI Chair

• Louise Holck, Danish Institute for Human Rights

ENNHRI Board

• Louise Holck, Danish Institute for Human Rights
• Tamar Gvaramadze, Office of the Public Defender of Georgia
• Beate Rudolf, German Institute for Human Rights
• Alyson Kilpatrick, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
• Simona Drenik Bavdek, Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia
• Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

ENNHRI Finance Chair

• Lorraine Hamill, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

ENNHRI Finance Committee

• Lorraine Hamill, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
• Alan Sharman, Equality and Human Rights Commission (Great Britain)
• Michael Windfuhr, German Institute for Human Rights
• Tobias Rahm, Swedish Institute for Human Rights

GANHRI Secretary

• Alyson Kilpatrick, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

GANHRI Bureau representatives

• Louise Holck, Danish Institute for Human Rights
• Tamar Gvaramadze, Office of the Public Defender of Georgia
• Beate Rudolf, German Institute for Human Rights
• Alyson Kilpatrick, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

GANHRI Bureau Alternate Member

• Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

GANHRI Sub-Committee on Accreditation Alternate Member

• Kristin Høgdahl, Norwegian Human Rights Institution

GANHRI Finance Committee Member

• Michael Windfuhr, German Institute for Human Rights

ENNHRI warmly congratulates all those elected to their positions and thanks all those who put themselves forward for nomination.

The current ENNHRI Board and its members will serve until the next ENNHRI General Assembly in March 2025. Although they still have time left in their mandates, ENNHRI already expresses its heartfelt thanks to all. Their commitment and expertise have helped take the network to new heights and ensure that the community of European NHRIs is growing ever closer together.

Learn more about ENNHRI’s governance.

Other General Assembly matters

Bringing together over 100 participants, the General Assembly was again the ideal forum to consider further vital network matters. Members launched the process towards ENNHRI’s new Strategic Plan. In the next 16 months, they will elaborate on national challenges to address, potential opportunities to embrace, and define the role of ENNHRI in the future.

Securitisation is a subject of high importance for NHRIs. Members co-designed future work on this vital topic, which is currently a network thematic priority for 2024 and will remain so in 2025.

Finally, the Assembly also offered a chance to reflect on recent milestones. ENNHRI’s Chair, Secretary General, Finance Chair and Working Groups reported back on important work from the previous six months. The Operational Plan for 2025 was also adopted, combined with a realistic budget.

See a selection of photos from the event.