The Scientific Council of the Amman Center discusses developments and challenges in its annual meeting

The Scientific Council of the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies held its annual meeting on Tuesday evening, August 22, in the Amman Center Hall.

Dr. Nizam Assaf, Director of the Center, welcomed the attendees at the beginning of the meeting, and gave them a detailed view of the Center’s progress over the past years, and the great achievements that were made locally and globally. He also appreciated the pioneering role of the Scientific Advisory Council in creating training and knowledge empowerment programs for young people interested in human rights in Jordan and the Arab countries.

The meeting dealt with a number of important issues and challenges facing the center. The most important of them were developing and organizing qualitative research and awareness activities, updating training and advocacy methods, and building advocacy, in addition to directives for holding new activities dedicated to celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In the same context, the members of the Scientific Council shed light on the future strategies of the center, especially after it received the United Nations Human Rights Prize 2023. Through this prize, the Center is facing new challenges and responsibilities that could lead to new opportunities.  In this regard, the Council recommended the development of training mechanisms, methods and approaches used in the work, and urged the encouragement of participants and trainers to contribute to developing new ideas to improve training systems and merging them with the suggestions of the Board of Directors. The meeting also reviewed a number of proposals submitted by the members of the Council, which discuss mechanisms for developing research, studies, awareness-raising courses on human rights, and activating social initiatives by building the leadership capacities of youth and young women.

The meeting also included the drafting of several plans to develop the current reality of the center, crystallize its future aspirations, and update its upcoming programs in which it will operate. In the strategy, the five priorities of the center are always reflected, and new priorities that are in line with the principles of the work of the United Nations are added.

At the end of the meeting, the Scientific Council unanimously expressed its pleasure and welcome for the Amman Center receiving the United Nations Human Rights Prize 2023 and considered it a tribute to Jordan and all human rights activists in the Arab world.

The Council also thanked everyone who contributed to the work, provided a voluntary effort, or contributed financially to raising the level of the center’s activities and maintaining its continuity, even through the Corona pandemic and its challenges. The results of the effort, the activities and the continuity are now reflected in the achievements of the ACHRS.

This meeting for the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies is particularly important due its continuous endeavor to develop and promote human rights, raise awareness of them, and protect them legislatively in Jordan and the Arab world, and establish cooperation and partnerships with various stakeholders and relevant bodies and institutions. The Council also discussed some ideas that would open horizons for activity Center at the international level during the next five years.

It is noteworthy that the members of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies are chosen for a period of 3 years from the holders of various disciplines, expertise and experiences who have a rich record of voluntary activities with the Center.

Members also elect a chairperson from among themselves, within the same criteria. The Board meets in an ordinary session once every 4 months, at the request of its chairman. Which in turn sets the agenda and issues to be discussed during the session. The Council may meet in an extraordinary session to discuss an issue it deems necessary on the agenda.