Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

After 16 years of leadership, Gerald Staberock is stepping down from his role as Secretary General of the OMCT. The Executive Council has accepted his resignation and will oversee a smooth transition to new leadership to continue advancing the organization’s mission to combat torture and support human rights defenders worldwide.

A good friend and colleague has taken the thoughtful decision to start a managed transition of his own position at the helm of a key international NGO. Forgive me for being biased but he is a remarkable and exceptional person.

Under his leadership, OMCT gained renewed energy, reinforcing its footprint across regions through dynamic regional offices and in country-presence and further expanding the reach and impact of its global network. This was no small accomplishment. With staff, members and partners around the globe, Gerald also aided in “opening roads, working through landslides and filling gaps” so that OMCT could respond more effectively to the needs of people who were subject to torture and serious human rights violations or abuse. He has fostered a model of work that is lean and fitting for purpose in some of the toughest places in the world and has put our network of human rights defenders at the heart of our identity. He has maintained time after time that our true reserves are human – the trust, commitment and courage of our members, partners and staff.

The Executive Council of the OMCT extends special thanks to Gerald for his unwavering commitment to OMCT’s values and philosophy. After 16 years of dedicated service, Gerald has made the personal decision to step down to embrace new challenges and devote more time to his family, and the Executive Council fully supports and respects this decision, sharing his conviction that a leadership transition can be healthy for both him and the organization. We are committed to ensuring that this transition is safe, orderly and well-timed, and that OMCT remains firmly anchored in its values and strategic vision. Gerald has promised in the past that he’s committed to OMCT and the challenge of torture and, in any case, a smooth handover to the next Secretary General.

In this vein, the Executive Council is eager to start the recruitment process for the OMCT’s next Secretary General. You can access here the call for applications. Timing of the new Secretary General will depend on the availability of the candidate selected, and a dedicated transition process will be co-defined between the Executive Council working group, the incoming Secretary General and Gerald.

Gerald’s own Message to the SOS Torture Network and partners is a demonstration of his modesty and foresightedness:

I am writing you today to tell you that I informed our executive board early this year that it is time for leadership transition after 16 years at the OMCT. I can assure you that we will ensure that this is a safe, orderly and well-timed transition so that there will be no gaps. I am also addressing this to all our supporters; this is the time we need you to stay course with us more than ever. The relationship with many of you has been enriching, marked by a shared commitment that has helped us shape our vision. I would particularly like to thank our support committee in Geneva for their support. 

For the past years, every time I came back from one of the many trips that are part of this job, I was intrigued by a watch making advertisement at the Geneva Airport. It basically says, ‘you never own this watch, your task is to keep it safe to hand over to a next generation’. Not being the owner of any luxury watches the advert always touched me, and each time I would think about OMCT.  And when my decision nourished that after 16 years of leadership, it is time to accept that change is good, I had to look back at this advert.

My task was to take on an incredible gift from the founding fathers (yes, they were male) and a charismatic preceding director whom I call a friend. An organization built around a network, built around people that work in their countries to make them better places, more just, safer – and who sadly often don’t get the recognition for the good they do. 

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed and continue to enjoy working with amazing staff and members in our network. Human rights are really about people, people we help, serve, support, torture survivors and human rights defenders that make the difference. Our reserves are not financial but these relationships – they are our most important currency. In this, OMCT being able to provide tangible support is a is a meaningful achievement. Human rights work is also collective, it is about a movement, an eco-system. I appreciate our joint work in the Human Rights Defenders mechanism – Protect Defenders – stimulating and effective. I believe that our collective work within United Against Torture Consortium will be crucially important for the future. OMCT will remain about being united because it makes us better and stronger.

…I feel after 16 years it is the right moment to making sure that this incredible gift – not a watch – but an organization called OMCT – is given into the safe hands of a new generation…..

We can only hope that he will continue to be active on one capacity or another in the human rights movement, if only through social media: see: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerald-staberock-65a63146/

https://www.omct.org/en/resources/statements/message-from-the-omct-president-on-the-secretary-generals-transition