The OMCT benefits from a broad and diverse expertise through its Executive Council, OMCT’s main governing body, constituted of individuals sharing a deep commitment towards human rights.
All Council members are also part OMCT's General Assembly, composed of 40+ members, representing all regions of the world and guiding OMCT’s long-term strategy.
Executive Council
Hina Jilani
PresidentOMCT’s President since 2016 and a leading women's rights activist, Hina Jilani has been advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 1992. She has, among other, founded the country’s first all-women law firm, worked as UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders and has been a member of The Elders since 2013.
Mokhtar Trifi
Vice-presidentFormer president of the Tunisian Human Rights League, an organisation that won the Nobel Peace Prize, Mokhtar Trifi is a prominent Tunisian lawyer. He played a key role in the democratic transition of his country and was ordained Commander of the Order of the Republic of Tunisia in 2018.
Claudia Samayoa
Vice-presidentFounder and Chair of the Board of the Unidad de Protección de Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos Guatemala (UDEFEGUA), Claudia Virginia Samayoa is a philosopher who’s dedicated her life to the defence of human rights in Guatemala and beyond.
Olivier Peter
TreasurerOlivier Peter joined OMCT’s Executive Council in 2019, acting as treasurer. A partner at the Geneva law firm Peter Moreau SA, Mr. Peter is highly engaged in the human rights and associative fields.
Adam Bodnar
MemberAdam Bodnar is a former director of the Polish Helsinki Foundation. He worked on the issue of Polish complicity on the CIA renditions and was awarded the Rafter Human Rights Prize for his steadfast struggle against a populist government during his tenure as the Human Rights Ombudsman of Poland.
Stephanie Brewer
MemberStephanie Brewer is the Director for Mexico and Migrant Rights at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and a board member of Centro Prodh (Mexico), where she previously worked as Coordinator of the International Department. Ms. Brewer has extensive experience documenting, litigating, and advocating for justice for victims of torture, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions in Mexico.
Sevan Doraisamy
MemberSevan Doraisamy is the Director of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) and has worked for over two decades on a range of human rights issues, including liberty and security of the person, freedom of expression and indigenous rights. Mr. Doraisamy is also involved in the Asian Alliance Against Torture.
Helen Keller
MemberHelen Keller is an international judge at the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a law professor at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Ms Keller has also served as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee and as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights.
Samwel Mohochi
MemberSamwel Mohochi is a Senior Partner at Mohochi & Co Advocates and a consultant on human rights, governance and transitional justice in Eastern Africa.
Olga Sadovskaya
MemberDeputy Chairperson of the Committee Against Torture (CAT), a non-governmental organisation based in Nizhny Novgorod exposing torture cases in the Russian Federation, Olga Sadovskaya is a lawyer specialized in human rights and a recipient of the 2017 Sakharov Freedom Award.
Peter Zangl
MemberPeter Zangl is an economist by training, with an extensive career in various fields such as the economy, social affairs, international relations and humanitarian aid. He is a former Director General of DG ECHO (Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection) in the EU Commission.