BAKHTIAR AMIN
Bakhtiar Amin was born in 1959 in Kirkuk, Iraq. He has served as Minister of Human Rights, Alternate Member of Governing Council in Iraq, Refugee Councilor in Sweden and Secretary General of Paris Kurdish Institute, Adviser to Danielle Mitterrand Foundation France-Libertes, Director of Human Rights Alliance in Washington D.C., Executive Director of the International Alliance for Justice (IAJ), which coordinated a network of 275 international non-governmental organizations from more than 120 countries.
The IAJ called for the establishment of an International Ad Hoc Tribunal to investigate the former Iraqi leadership’s crimes against humanity, crimes of war and genocide. He was educated at the Sorbonne in Parisand has a master’s degree in international relations. He pursued doctoral studies in geopolitics and studied journalism in Sweden.
He has over three decades’ experience in the field of democracy, international human rights and humanitarian work. He has worked extensively on issues involving minorities, indigenous peoples, good governance, empowerment of youth and women, rule of law, water cooperation, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), land mines, justice, peace, non violence, the International Criminal Court, genocide, crimes against humanity, mass graves, freedom of expression, cultural issues, federalism, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), liberating prisoners and conflict resolution.
He has participated in fact-finding missions in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Kurdistan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. He has testified before US Congress, European Parliament, Council of Europe, OSCE, NATO, various UN bodies in Geneva and New York, and spoken at many prestigious institutions, think-tank organizations and universities worldwide.
He has been a member of the Nonviolent Radical Party Transnationa and Transparty and of No Peace Without Justice for many years. He has been actively involved in G8’s Forum for Future process in Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region, speaking at various international conferences and meeting regularly with heads of states and dignitaries from various parts of the world.
He was the Chairman of the board of directors for the Foundation for the Future, which carried out over 200 projects in the field of democracy, civic participation and human rights in the BMENA region. He participated actively in Democracy Assistance Dialogue in the Middle East (DAD). He speaks regularly at international and regional conferences and Forums.