Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Human rights activist and author working on civil and political rights issues in the OSCE region, the Middle East and Asia, and advocating for reforms in international human rights discourse. I was Executive Director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights between 1993-2007, and helped establish the Foundation for Human Security in the Middle East and International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, and the Freedom Rights Project, a think tank. In 2014, I was named president of the Forum for Religious Freedom--Europe. My new book, Human Rights Without Illusions was published in August 2025 by Academica Books. My first book, The Debasement of Human Rights, was published by Encounter Books in 2018. My articles and reviews have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Die Zeit, Newsweek, The National Interest, the National Review, Radio Free Asia, and many other publications. See www.natural-rights.com I am interested in contributing to human rights education, to the work of independent international and local organizations and media, to the work of governments and intergovernmental organizations, to research and advocacy on specific problems, and to discussions about the problems afflicting the idea of human rights itself. In addressing these challenges, I can draw on my experience in politics, academia, and international human rights.
FOREF is an independent, nonpartisan, secular organization that monitors threats to religious freedom and advocates for respect for international human rights standards.
The Freedom Rights Project, now inactive, is a research initiative that examined, analyzed and documented trends in international human rights law and practice.
The Campaign was established in 2008 by several international human rights advocates including myself. My role was advocacy in UN institutions; conceptualization and drafting of reports and appeals; fundraising.
Course for Germany military officers on "Human Rights and Human Rights Issues"