Kirsten Meijer to join NHC as Executive Director per 15 February 2022

As of 15 February 2022 Kirsten Meijer will be the new Executive Director of the Netherlands Helsinki Committee.

Kirsten is currently Director of Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF) International, an NGO that works towards a gender just and healthy environment in over 50 countries, and with more than 150 partners across the globe. Prior to joining WECF, she was the International Secretary for the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) for more than 6 years.

Kirsten brings with her more than 20 years of experience in non-profit management, political strategy and policy development, as well as communications and campaigning. She has a special connection to the region and the work of the NHC, having started her career at Foundation Max van der Stoel, where she coordinated projects on democratisation in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, the Southern Caucasus and MENA region.

Kirsten Meijer is looking forward to her new role at the NHC: “It feels like coming home! The NHC has a unique network and strong track record on the important issues close to my heart: human rights, rule of law, integrity, justice. The shrinking civic spaces, the gross human rights violations in countries like Belarus, and the pressure on rule of law and democracy, also closer to home, call for action. There is great potential to enable change, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute. S”

The management team and Supervisory Board of the NHC are convinced that Kirsten will be able to make an important contribution to the NHC’s mission.

Piet de Klerk, Chair of the Supervisory Board: “We are very happy to have Kirsten join the NHC as Executive Director. We look forward to working with her in the years to come on solidifying the strategic course of the organisation, and most importantly, on continuing to build and secure justice and promote human rights, in Europe and beyond.”

Kirsten will succeed Pepijn Gerrits, who left the organisation per 1 December 2021 to join Oxfam Novib’s Board of Directors.