The International Board consists of nine people, each of whom is a member of Amnesty International. They are elected to office by the Global Assembly (GA), which meets annually. Up to two additional members can be appointed by the Board itself as co-opted members.
The elected International Board members’ three-year terms are staggered, with one third of the members up for re-election at each GA meeting. Each member is eligible for re-election for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The co-opted members serve a term of up to two years commencing from the date of the preceding GA meeting with a maximum of two terms.
The elected members of the International Board may not include more than one member from the same country, state or territory.
The International Board meets at least four times a year.
The International Board provides global stewardship for the fulfilment of the movement’s mission and vision and its compliance with global policies and standards. Its remit is defined in Article 19 of the Statute.
- provides proposals for the approval of the Global Assembly including on the international financial assessment system, global governance procedures, global standards and the Strategic Goals;
- oversees the movement’s finances and risks;
- oversees the protection of the movement’s reputation and resources;
- oversees the work and operations of the International Secretariat including by appointing the Secretary General, approving the International Secretariat’s annual audited accounts and budget and appointing its auditors;
- monitors compliance of all parts of the movement with the provisions of the Statute, the decisions of the Global Assembly and other global policies and standards;
- approves the establishment of membership entities and other movement entities;
- exercises the functions necessary to implement Article 34 of the Statute; and
- provides reports, at least once a year, to the movement on the budget, the financial position of the movement and of the International Secretariat and on the International Board’s work and performance.
The International Board appoints and directs Amnesty International’s Secretary General who, in turn, is responsible for the day-to-day conduct of the international movement, acting as the movement’s chief spokesperson, its chief political advisor and as the chief executive officer of the International Secretariat.
The International Board is accountable to the GA.
Contact the International Board: [email protected]
The International Board has a dual governance role:
As the board of directors of the not-for-profit operating company of the International Secretariat, Amnesty International Ltd (AI Ltd). In their role as directors of AI Ltd, the Board is governed by the governing documents applicable to AI Ltd; and
As the board of the Amnesty International movement (with its role as described under the Statute of Amnesty International).
Current members of the International Board:
Dr Anjhula Mya Singh Bais
Chair of the International Board
Dr Anjhula Mya Singh Bais was elected Chair of the International Board in Autumn 2021. She is an international psychology trauma specialist. From Davos to Dhaka, Anjhula engages populations on the ground around the climate crisis, mental health, human rights, leadership, and strategic thinking through a feminist lens. She is a Global Risks Perception Subject Matter Expert for the World Economic Forum, sits on the Covid Social Sector Mobilisation Platform, an initiative between the World Health Organisation and World Economic Forum and is a consultant to global boards of MNCs around behaviour, risk, and culture.
Anjhula has been named a Fellow of the Apolitical Academy, Prestige’s 40 Under 40, listed on the 2021 Agile 50 List of the world’s most influential people navigating disruption by the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council (GFC) on Agile Governance and bestowed the Global Citizen Psychologist Citation from the American Psychological Association (APA). A distinguished LSE alumni, Bais holds degrees from Lady Shri Ram College of the University of New Delhi, University College London, Columbia, Harvard, and Oxford Universities, and with distinction from The Chicago School. She is a member of YPO and is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
Her governance experience encompasses serving as a current standing representative for Divisions of Social Justice of the APA, the world’s largest body of professional psychologists, former chair of languages of the International Psychology division of (APA), the youngest board member of the Institute of Semitics at Princeton, and former Chair of Amnesty International Malaysia 2017-2019.
Ambassadorships include INGO Concern Worldwide where she represented Concern on international missions and People to People Citizen Ambassador to Rwanda for genocide reconciliation research. She is a scientific journal peer reviewer for the journal American Psychologist and the Humanistic Psychologist, and was a thought leader on her Lite FM radio show Mind Matters which had a weekly listenership of 1 million.
Peter Fa’afiu
Vice Chair
Peter is a Partner in Navigator Limited, a management consultancy acting as an intermediary for community outcomes in New Zealand and the Pacific Region. Peter is a former diplomat and trade negotiator for the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and spent four years in Jakarta, Indonesia working on political, human rights and security issues. In New Zealand, he has been a former chief executive of a Government company, and previously held governance roles that covered housing, economic development, infrastructure, education, media and broadcasting. He has been a member of the NZ Media Council, New Zealand’s media regulatory body.
Peter chaired Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand 2016 – 2019. He is a New Zealander of Samoan descent, holding the chiefly title of Tiumalu. Peter holds and a law and politics degrees from the University of Auckland and management education from Mt Eliza Business School, Melbourne.
Aniket Shah
International Treasurer
Aniket Shah is a practitioner in sustainable finance, whose career has bridged the public and private sectors. He has worked at leading global financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Investec Asset Management and Oppenheimer Funds, and in international policy research at Columbia University and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He is currently a Senior Fellow at Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Investment and a Senior Advisor to the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network where he advises governments, the private sector and major development finance institutions on how to further their efforts in sustainable finance. Aniket has a BA from Yale University and a PhD from the University of Oxford.
Aniket’s work with Amnesty International began in 2002 in New Delhi, India, as a student member. He served on the Amnesty International USA Board of Directors for several years, including as Treasurer and Chair. He was elected as the International Treasurer of Amnesty International in August 2019.
Christopher Schlaeffer
Co-opted member
Christopher is a European entrepreneur, technology executive and activist. He served as Chief Digital Officer of VEON (NASDAQ: VEON) as well as Chief Product & Innovation Officer, Corporate Development Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Deutsche Telekom (Xetra: DTE). His new company is NYOUM. Together with Andy Rubin, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Peter Chou and Cole Brodman in 2008 he unveiled the world’s first mobile phone based on Android, T-Mobile G1. In 2007, he and Tim Cook closed Apple’s historic first partnership on iPhone outside the US.
A graduate of Vienna University of Economics, Christopher has been recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and ranked one of the Top50 Innovators To Watch. Christopher has extensive experience in board roles and serves as Patron of iamtheCODE.org, the movement to enable 1 million girls from marginalised communities to become coders.
Christopher was co-opted to the International Board in January 2020.
Fabiola Gutiérrez Arce
Fabiola is a political scientist, researcher and teacher based in Peru. She has dedicated her research work to cases of violence against women in the context of armed conflict and specialises in qualitative research methods. In addition, Fabiola has participated in various research projects and publications that directly address the issue of democracy and human rights in Peru, undertaking field work and data collection in different regions of Peru, working in intercultural spaces and, in some cases, high-risk locations. Fabiola coordinated an activism team and led the Governance Training Commission of Amnesty Peru and was an active participant in the Environment and Human Rights and Legal Affairs commissions.
Fabiola holds a master’s degree in cultural studies. She was a member on the Board of the Peruvian Section of Amnesty International for two consecutive terms and was part of the Amnesty International Women’s Humans Rights Network. Fabiola was elected to the International Board in August 2017.
NINA BOEL
Nina Boel is a medical doctor and holds a degree in political science (both from the University of Copenhagen) and a diploma in journalism. She currently works as a Danish diplomat in South Korea, supporting the government to government collaboration on health. She has a deep understanding of global political and economic trends, as well as their impacts on human right.
Nina served as the Chair of Amnesty Denmark 2015-2017. She was previously Deputy Chair and served on the national board for 6 years. As Chair, she oversaw a new strategic direction for AI Denmark, which meant that AI Denmark became stronger and more outward looking,increasing collaboration with rights holders and other allies.
During her 6-year tenure with Denmark’s Council for Human Rights (The Danish Institute for Human Rights), she initiated the first human rights prize in Denmark and was Chair of the jury for the first years. Furthermore, she represented AI Denmark at the Council of the Danish Refugee Council for 4 years.
She has served the global Amnesty International movement since 2016, first as a member of the Chairs Forum Steering Committee and later as a PrepCom member, where she was part of the team which ushered in the first cycle of Amnesty International’s new governance model.
She has hands on experience documenting torture and human rights abuses as a medical doctor, and she has contributed to Amnesty research reports on refugees and torture victims which have resulted in concrete human rights impact. She has worked for the advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights for youth in Uganda, and in Denmark she worked to secure access to health and non-discrimination for transgender persons.
Nina was elected to the International Board in September 2021.
MANDEEP SINGH
Mandeep is a technology entrepreneur and highly experienced business leader. Mandeep is the former Chief Executive and Founder of Trouva, the online platform which brings together Europe’s best independent home and fashion retailers, backed by some of the world’s leading technology investors. He also acted as a spokesperson and campaigner on behalf of small businesses in media such as BBC One, Forbes, The Telegraph & CNBC, and was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in retail by Retail Week.
Previously Mandeep worked at BC Partners, OC&C Strategy Consultants and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a non-executive director at Trouva and Thrift+, and an advisory board member at Walking on Earth.
Mandeep has an MA in Natural Sciences & Management Studies from Churchill College, Cambridge. Mandeep was elected to the International Board in 2021, having been a member of Amnesty International since 2008.
Mandeep was elected to the International Board in September 2021.
RENEE NGAMAU
Renee Ngamau is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She holds an Ll. B. degree from the University of Nairobi, Dip. Law from the Kenya School of Law; Ll.M. Masters specializing in Banking and Finance Law. She is a legal practitioner specializing in human rights advocacy, and in commercial law. Renee is also an accredited Leadership and Business Coach of over 9 years, an NLP Master Practitioner and Trainer, and a Hypnotherapist. Renee, a celebrated media personality, was awarded the Graca Machel Trust award for Women Advancing Africa 2018. In recognition of her advocacy work in media, Renee is also recognized as an African Women in Media Champion. She is a past Chairperson of Amnesty International Kenya, the Kenyan chapter of Amnesty international. She now serves on the Global Board of Amnesty International and director at Cleanstart.
She is an enthusiastic evangelist for building grassroot leadership and a relentless advocate of the Amnesty Kenya’s Circles of Conscience – a program to bring together, empower and support local and grassroots movements, and special interest groups focused on human rights, dignity, professionalism, integrity and action, within the civic space and beyond.
For her efforts in protesting the illegal grabbing of open and communal spaces by private individuals and for supporting women to start and grow their businesses, Renee has been featured in local and international press, including Citizen, Peoples’ Daily, Reuters Foundation and others. She has also been recognized and awarded the prestigious Moving Mountains Award 2020 by the global organization, United Succes Global.
Renee runs ReneeSense Ltd., a coaching and training company that works with female entrepreneurs looking to start, grow or pivot their businesses. Her mission is to support 1 million women entrepreneurs on the continent to confidently run successful businesses that hire and abundantly remunerate at least five other women with salaries in the top tier salary scale of their respective countries.
Renee is credited with bringing communities together and nurturing leadership. Through her work as a volunteer for CleanStart, an organization for formerly incarcerated women, Renee works to support women to entrepreneurship and to find their voices. Renee is the co-founder and co-convenor of Candid Conversations for Women in Business, a movement that supports entrepreneurs to step into leadership roles in existing businesses and also to grow their businesses. Renee’s dream in which all people live dignified lives, are fully self-expressed, engaged and pursuing their passion for profit into posterity.
Renee Ngamau was elected to the International Board in September 2021
Christoph Alberts
Christoph Alberts is a political scientist from Berlin, Germany. Before his election to the International Board, he had been active in different governance roles within Amnesty International, both as spokesperson of the German Youth Representative Board (2017-2019) as well as a member of the Global Youth Collective (2018-2020). The issues of sustainable organisational development and transformation processes play a crucial role for Christoph. To ensure that Amnesty International as a global movement can continue to fight for social and intersectional justice in the 21st century, Christoph is looking forward to shaping necessary change processes together with the International Board. Christoph currently lives in Berlin, where he studied political science, philosophy, and social sciences. Besides his involvement as a member of the International Board, Christoph is undertaking graduate studies in History at Humboldt University zu Berlin. Christoph was elected to the International Board in July 2022.
Cécile Coudriou
Cécile Coudriou is a lecturer at Sorbonne Paris-Nord University, where she gives courses (in English) on media and communication, as well as cultural industries, policies and practices.
Cécile has always been a passionate advocate of human rights and dignity for all. She joined Amnesty International in 2001, and after serving twice as vice chair of AI France, she became the chair in 2018. Until 2022, she was the main spokesperson, the Standing representative of her section and a member of the European-Central Asia region’s Steering Committee. Cécile has thereby acquired an excellent knowledge of the organization, of governance and human rights issues.
Statute of Amnesty International: As amended by the 2019 Global Assembly Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2 – 4 August 2019