Daniel Holder, director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), is one of 15 vice-presidents elected to the global human rights body’s international board at its recent congress in Bogotá, Colombia.

The vice-president role is a voluntary position on the board of FIDH, with those elected serving a three-year term.

The FIDH is a global network of nearly 200 human rights organisations from over 115 countries.

Headquartered in Paris and established in 1922, the FIDH has been defending civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for over a century.

CAJ is an independent, non-governmental human rights organisation, based in Belfast, which promotes justice and protects rights.

CAJ has been particularly involved in work relating to safeguarding the Northern Ireland peace process, dealing with the legacy of the past, combatting racism and promoting equality.

Commenting on his election, Mr Holder said: “I am proud to have been elected to serve on the FIDH international board by member organisations from around the world. 

“It provides a key opportunity to share the learning from the work of CAJ in the local context of the peace process in what is a challenging time globally for human rights given the multiple existential threats to rights and basic democratic standards from growing authoritarianism.”

FIDH’s newly-elected president, Alexis Deswaef, is a Belgian lawyer specialising in international law, a lawyer at the International Criminal Court (ICC), a former president of the Belgian Human Rights League and vice-president of FIDH for six years.

He is known for his engagement in Europe, defending the rights of migrants, as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Middle East, Iraq, Palestine, Israel and Egypt.