Amel as the first NGO of the Third World Society elected to lead ICVA with the highest number of votes
In parallel with the rise of its humanitarian role locally and globally, through its advocacy of fair causes, Amel Association International was elected as a member of the leadership of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) during the annual meeting of the Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Amel’s president Dr. Kamel Mohanna attended the meeting with a delegation from the association.
40 votes made Amel as the first NGO in the Arab region to be elected to the membership of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA). This is an indication of the importance of the role played by Amel in the humanitarian and social fields, after its candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize and its leadership of the “3 Ls” campaign in solidarity with refugees and migrants around the world, and the efforts to correct the compass of the humanitarian field performance.
Four decades ago, Amel joined ICVA, in accordance with its standards of partnership with international and non-governmental organizations, to work through its philosophy of promoting human dignity and advocating for fair causes of the people, especially The Palestinian cause.
For Amel, any humanitarian action which does not focus on marginalized and vulnerable groups cannot be considered humanitarian ! As well as the need to seek equitable distribution of wealth and to associate global discourse with the spread and escalation of humanitarian and social crises everywhere. Dr. Mohanna said in an intervention at ICVA general assembly.
Through this new responsibility, Amel seeks to share its experience as a model for change in the voluntary, developmental and humanitarian work, and to establish stronger linkages between field realities and global policies.
In addition, Dr. Mohanna met the Permanent Representative of Lebanon to UN- Geneva, Ambassador Salim Baddoura. The meeting focused on how to support Amel’s nomination for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.
During his visit to Geneva Dr. Mohanna, met the mayor of Geneva, Mr. Rémy Pagani who is expected to visit Lebanon in May 2018. Pagani discussed the possibility of collaborating with Amel Association to implement a project on the empowerment of persons with disabilities.
International Council of Voluntary Associations (ICVA) Board is a global network of non-governmental organisations whose mission is to make humanitarian action more principled and effective by working collectively and independently to influence policy and practice.
