Hina Jilani

Hina Jilani (Pakistan)

U.N. Special Representative at Forefront of Peace Movement

Hina Jilani is Director of the AGHS Legal Aid Clinic and acts as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders. Ms. Jilani has been at the forefront of the movement for peace, human rights and women's rights in Pakistan for the last two decades. A founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Ms. Jilani currently serves as the Commission's vice president. She is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and has steadfastly represented those whose human rights have been violated, including victims of domestic violence, fundamentalist violence, and so-called "honor killings," as well as bonded workers. In 2001, Ms. Jilani was appointed Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders. In that same year, she was also awarded the Millennium Peace Prize, the first award of its kind to recognize women who have made outstanding contributions to building peace.

Posted November 2008