Ms. Amina Bouayach was appointed Chairperson of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on December 6, 2018, and had previously served as Morocco's Ambassador to Sweden and Latvia from February 2016.

Elected as Secretary of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) in March 2022, Ms. Bouayach previously held the positions of Vice-President and later Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). Notably, she was the first woman to chair a human rights organization in Morocco, leading the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (OMDH) for two consecutive terms. With a diverse professional background, she was previously in charge of communication for the office of former Head of the Government Abderrahmane El Youssoufi, in addition to her roles as a journalist and institutional communication consultant.

With a degree in economics, Ms. Bouayach is multilingual, fluent in Arabic, Amazigh, French, English and Spanish. She was member of the Advisory Commission for the Revision of Morocco’s 2011 Constitution, and member of the Board of Directors of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Reintegration of Prisoners.

Throughout her career, Ms. Bouayach has played a prominent role in various national and international bodies, namely the Scientific Committee of the World Congress against the Death Penalty, the National Commission on International Humanitarian Law (CNDIH) and the MENA Regional Forum. This forum aimed at advocating for the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), and the establishment of the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture (NPM). 

Her involvement also extended to the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), the Arab Organization for Human Rights, the NGOs Committee for the Reform of the League of Arab States and the Freedom of Association Working Group in the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (2009-2011).

In 2009, Ms. Bouayach spearheaded a group of Moroccan Human Rights NGOs for the creation of a Moroccan NPM later established within CNDH’s structure. Founding member of the OMDH, the Jossour Forum des Femmes Marocaines (FFM) and the Al-Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center in Tunis, Ms. Bouayach was also Deputy Secretary-General of the Steering Committee in charge of developing the Action Plan on democracy and human rights (2008-2010) and implementing the recommendations of Morocco’s Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER).

Additionally, she participated in political advocacy in Addis Ababa to encourage the African Union's adoption of the protocol for the abolition of the death penalty. Moreover, in implementation of the IER recommendations, she coordinated the efforts of human rights NGOs to advocate for the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED).

Ms. Bouayach was bestowed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI the Wissam Al Arch (Order of the Throne) of third rank (Officer) and the Wissam Al Arch as Commander in 2014 as member of the Advisory Commission for the Revision of Morocco’s 2011 Constitution. She also received the order of Officer of the Legion of Honor of the French Republic in 2014.

In 2021, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) designated Ms. Bouayach among five women leaders and prominent human rights defenders advocating for a more egalitarian post-COVID world, as part of the Commissioner’s campaign “I Stand with Her.” Ms. Bouayach’s dedication to the protection and promotion of human rights received further acclaim on January 2024, as the North-South Center of the Council of Europe (CoE) awarded her the prestigious 2023 North-South Prize for oustansing contributions to advancing human rights, gender equality and the prevention of torture at both national and continental levels, making her the first Moroccan woman and the third individual to receive this Prize. She was awarded the “Women of the Future Prize 2024” in Madrid, by the Spanish-French Friendship Association, in recognition of her unwavering commitment to protecting and promoting human rights.

Born in Tetouan, Morocco, on December 10, a date also commemorated as World Human Rights Day, Ms. Bouayach is a mother of two.

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