Mr Salih Booker appointed new COHRE Executive Director

5 May 2008 - It is with great pleasure that the COHRE Board announces the appointment of Mr Salih Booker as Executive Director of COHRE. Under his leadership, COHRE will continue its development and extend its reach and effects in greater fulfillment of COHRE’s mission and goals.

Salih Booker served as executive director of Global Rights for two years from May 2006. Founded in 1978 as the International Human Rights Law Group, today Global Rights is an international human rights capacity-building organisation with a worldwide focus on women’s rights and gender equality; racial and ethnic equality; and access to justice for marginalised communities. Mr Booker was responsible for the coordination and implementation of Global Rights’ mission, overseeing its day-to-day operations, global fundraising and programmatic operations. Global Rights has offices in 8 countries, 80 staff, and programs in nearly two dozen countries.

Prior to his work with Global Rights, Mr Booker served for six years as executive director of Africa Action, the oldest organization in the US working for human rights in Africa established in 1953 as the American Committee on Africa.

From 1995 through 1999, Mr Booker directed the Council on Foreign Relations Africa Studies Program. He has twice served as a professional staff member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the US Congress (1983-1986 and 1990) and as a program officer for human rights, governance and international affairs for the Ford Foundation in Eastern and Southern Africa (1986-88). He was also an associate director for the Catholic Relief Services' Southern Africa Office (1991), and a legislative assistant for TransAfrica (1980-1983). Mr Booker has worked as a consultant for numerous international institutions, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, the Bernard van Leer Foundation, and the African Development Foundation.

Mr Booker has published articles and opinion pieces for the International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, The Nation, The Mail & Guardian, Current History, and various other publications. He has appeared regularly on CNN International, as well as other national and foreign news programs. He served as a member of Amnesty International USA’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Advisory Committee and as the Co-Chair of the International Relations Center. He was educated at Wesleyan University, the University of Ghana, and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Salih Booker will take up his position as COHRE Executive Director on 1 July and will work from COHRE’s International Secretariat, based in Geneva.

John Packer
For the whole COHRE Board