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Moushira KhattabEgyptian human rights activist and public figure
Date of Birth: 16.07.1944
Country:  Egypt |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Diplomatic Career
- Ministerial Career
- Human Rights Advocacy
- International Speaker
- UNESCO Candidacy
- Awards and Recognition
- 2010: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Early Life and Education
Mushera Khattab is an Egyptian human rights advocate and social activist. She holds a Ph.D. in General Measures of Realization of the Child Rights Convention - Egyptian Perspectives from Cairo University, Egypt. She earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in International Relations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political and Economic Sciences at Cairo University, Egypt.
Diplomatic Career
Khattab served as the first ambassador from Egypt to South Africa during Nelson Mandela's presidency. She was Egypt's ambassador to Czechoslovakia during its peaceful separation into the Czech and Slovak Republics, and later served as ambassador to both newly independent republics. She concluded her diplomatic career as an assistant minister of foreign affairs for international cultural relations. Her diplomatic missions included Budapest, Vienna, Melbourne, and work in UN headquarters in New York and in UNIDO in Vienna.
Ministerial Career
From March 2009 to February 2011, Khattab served as Egypt's Minister of Family and Population Affairs.
Human Rights Advocacy
Khattab has been an active international advocate for human rights, particularly children's and women's rights. She served as the chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva.
In 2005, she became vice-chairperson of the International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR), a non-governmental organization based in Montreal, Canada. She represented the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region on the board of Child Helpline International. Khattab also chaired the MENA regional committee and the Egyptian national committee focusing on violence against children.
From 2002 to 2010, Khattab was the vice-chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and served as a permanent member and rapporteur. In 2008, she became a member of the UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN GIFT). In 2005, she led the intergovernmental working group that developed the Guidelines and Recommendations for Justice in Matters involving Children as Victims and Witnesses of Crime, which were adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council.
International Speaker
Since 2011, Ambassador Khattab has been an active participant and speaker at international forums, discussing key issues in the fields of children's rights and women's rights. Drawing on her combined expertise in international diplomacy and human rights advocacy, she regularly engages in global discussions and debates related to social and human development.
UNESCO Candidacy
On July 19, 2016, the Egyptian Prime Minister announced Ambassador Khattab as Egypt's official candidate for the post of Director-General of UNESCO in the 2017 elections.
Awards and Recognition
Ambassador Khattab has received several international awards for her contributions to education, culture, and social and human development, including:
2010: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
2008: U.S. Secretary of State's International Woman of Courage Award2007: Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
1999: Order of Good Hope, awarded by the President of the Republic of South Africa, the country's highest order to be awarded to a foreign citizen
