Diplomat Ahmed Ehab Is New Head of National Council for Human Rights

Egypt’s House of Representatives has approved a new formation of the National Council for Human Rights, appointing veteran diplomat Ahmed Ehab as chair.

Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat, head of the El-Sadat Association for Social Development and Welfare, was named vice-chair. The 25-member council is mandated to monitor and promote human rights, receive complaints, propose legislative amendments and engage with international human rights mechanisms.

Established in 2003, the council retained its “A” status accreditation in November 2025 from the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, confirming compliance with United Nations standards on independence and effectiveness.

The new line-up includes representatives from media, civil society, academia and legal institutions. Among the appointed members are Ezzat Ibrahim, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Weekly; Wafaa Binyamin of Caritas Egypt; Samira Louka of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services; Ayman Abdel Wahab of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies; Alaa Shalaby of the Arab Organization for Human Rights; Ayman Aqeel of the Maat Foundation; and Ahmed Bakry of the Egypt Foundation for Refugee Rights, alongside other public policy and human rights specialists.

Ehab previously served as Egypt’s ambassador to Morocco and permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

He also held the role of secretary-general of the Supreme Permanent Committee for Human Rights and served as assistant foreign minister for human rights. He succeeds Mahmoud Karem, who led the council following Moushira Khattab’s resignation in June 2025.