Staff

Harry Hummel (H.K.), Executive director
Contact: hhummel@nhc.nl 
Mr Hummel has been working in the human rights field since 1972. While studying biology at the university of Groningen (cum laude graduation 1979), he worked as a volunteer work at local, regional and national level in the Netherlands section of Amnesty International. He was member of the board of Amnesty International from 1979 till 1983, and then continued with Amnesty as a staff member. He worked in a wide range of positions, including Head of Campaigns, Senior Strategy Director and acting Executive Director. He was involved in strategy development at international level in Amnesty, and took part in a number of international research missions. The effectiveness of response to the human rights crises of the 90s (Central Africa, former Yugoslavia), the protection of human rights defenders and work on human rights in the Netherlands were among his particular areas of interest.
In 2008, he worked as executive secretary of the first Human Rights Tulip award. He joined the NHC in January 2010, and is in charge of overall policy and strategy development, human resource management, and the exploration of new project options. Mr. Hummel is also responsible for the following project:

• The Dutch contribution for the project Preventing Human Rights Abuses in Places of Detention in Romania and Hungary (2010-2011), carried out jointly with the Helsinki Committees of Romania and Hungary.   

Kirsten Hawlitschek (K.), Deputy director / Project manager 
Contact: khawlitschek@nhc.nl
Ms Hawlitschek studied Russian studies at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. She joined the NHC in March 2006. Before that she lived 5 years in Beijing, China, and worked as a project manager for the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Prior to China she worked for the international projects department at Tebodin in The Hague. At the NHC Ms Hawlitschek is responsible for the following projects:

• Treatment of violent offenders in Croatian Prisons and Penitentiaries (2008-2009)
• Strategic human rights litigation in the South Caucasus (2006 - 2010)
• Management of the organization ethos and development of human resources within the Croation Ministry of Justice – Prison Administration (2008-2011)
• Strengthening the Bulgarian Judges Association (2008-2011)

Henk Hulshof (H.B.J.W.), Project manager
Contact: hhulshof@nhc.nl
Mr Henricus Hulshof holds Master degrees in Slavonic Studies and in Political Sciences (both University of Amsterdam). After a brief period with Amnesty International in Amsterdam he worked as a Programme Officer for the United Nations Development Programme which took him to Azerbaijan and Honduras. Following a consultancy assignment for Unicef in Ghana, Mr. Hulshof became Human Dimension Officer at OSCE Tajikistan. Prior to joining the NHC, he worked as Human Rights Officer for the OHCHR in Guatemala. At the NHC Mr Hulshof is repsonsible for conceptualizing new programmes.

Julia Koster (J.), Project manager
Contact: juliakoster@nhc.nl
Ms Koster gained a Bachelor degree in Journalism at the Hogeschool of Utrecht and a Master degree in East European Studies at the University of Amsterdam where she specialised in the political history of the former Yugoslavia. After working as a journalist, Ms Koster has worked on several projects in the fields of post-conflict rehabilitation and democratization in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. She has worked for the NHC since November 2005. She is responsible for the following projects:

• Introduction of Correctional and Therapeutical Programmes for Work with Juvenile Offenders at the Reformatory in the Town of Boychinovtsi (Bulgaria, 2009 – 2010)
• Promotion of the Rights of Trafficked Persons in Serbia with Emphasis on Legal Support – A Human Rights-Based Approach (Serbia, 2010 - 2012)
• Institutions at Bay (Serbia, 2008-2011)

Kamala Laghate (K.), Project manager
Contact: klaghate@nhc.nl
Ms Laghate studied Polish Language and Literature in Amsterdam. She has worked for four years as Assistant Bilateral Programmes at the Netherlands Embassy in Warsaw, where her main task was managing the Matra/KAP programme for Poland and Belarus. She joined the NHC in October 2004. She is responsible for the following projects:

• Strategic human rights litigation in the South Caucasus (2006 - 2010)
• Documenting the Past of Croatia: Establishment of a digital database on war crimes (2006-2010)

Emma Oosten (E.), Project manager
Contact: eoosten@nhc.nl
Ms Oosten gained a Bachelor degree in Cultural Anthropology & Development Studies and a Master degree in Conflictmanagement at the Radboud University Nijmegen. She specialized in civil society building in Eastern Europe. After working for the Radboud University and for several non-profit organizations she joined the NHC in October 2008. At the NHC Ms Oosten is responsible for the following projects:

• Executive editor of Security and Human Rights, Formerly Helsinki Monitor
• Exchange of expertise and mutual learning between the Commission for Protection against Discrimination  of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission (2009-2010)
• Bringing the judiciary closer to the public, the role of spokespersons in the judiciary in Croatia (2010-2011)
• Creating a National Integrated Rehabilitation System for Drug Addicted Offenders in Romania (2010-2011)
• Training the Iraqi prison management (2010-2011)

Barbora Pomsarova (B.), Project manager
Contact: bpomsarova@nhc.nl
Ms Pomsarova gained a cum laude Master's degree at the Faculty of Philosophy of Comenius University in Bratislava. Her specialization in Dutch language and culture made her also study at Utrecht University during a research scholarship. After having worked as a project manager with an international event organizer, she gained experience in developing conference and training programmes within the process industry and energy sector. After this work experience at Institute for International Research, she joined the NHC team in September 2009. At the NHC Ms Pomsarova is responsible for the following projects:

• Work and Education in the Prison System Turkey (2009-2011)
• Strengthening the National Penitentiary System in Line with the International and European Standards (the Republic of Macedonia, 2009-2010)
• Harm Reduction in the Prison System Turkey (2010-2012)

Floortje Sekhuis (F.E.), Project assistant
Contact: fsekhuis@nhc.nl
Ms Sekhuis gained a cum laude Master's degree in International Development Sociology at Wageningen University. She specialized in organization, bureaucracy and the state in developing countries, though she also had a focus on polemological issues of conflict and conflictprevention concerning minorities. She gained experience in the field of human rights through her work for Amnesty International from 2006 to 2010 as secretary and acting coordinator on Africa and more recently on the Middle East as well. Ms Sekhuis joined the NHC in May 2010 to assist the project managers. More in particular as project assistant she is involved in the project:

• Building the capacity of civil society to promote human rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council states (2010-2013)

Marjolein Boele (M.J.), Office manager
Contact: mboele@nhc.nl
Ms Boele gained a Bachelor degree in Psychology and is now studying for a Master degree at Leiden University, The Netherlands. Ms Boele joined the NHC in January 2006. She has gained over 20 years of experience as a secretary to the board and as an office manager. Besides her work as office manager, Ms Boele is involved in the preparation of Round Table Conferences which the NHC organises.

Carla Huisman (C.), Financial Officer
Contact: chuisman@nhc.nl
Ms Huisman gained a Bachelor degree in accounting (SPD1 / SPD2) and has been working as an administrator and financial manager in various profit and non-profit organizations. She is keen on working in organizations with idealistic goals. Since 2008, Ms Huisman is responsible for the financial administration of the NHC.
 

 print