Executive Steering Committee

The Executive Steering Committee consists of four persons and provides ongoing support and guidance to the Executive Office. Members must therefore not only be strongly committed to Equalinrights, but also readily available and accessible to the Executive Office. A quorum of 2/3 is required for all decisions of the Executive Steering Committee. All decisions are made by consensus. The role of the Executive Steering Committee is to:

The current members of the Executive Steering Committee are:

Professor Bas de Gaay Fortman (Chairperson)  

Professor Bas de Gaay Fortman is currently the Chair in Political Economy of Human Rights at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), Faculty of Law, University of Utrecht. He is an avid human rights supporter and has worked persistently on the realisation of human rights for many, many years. His experience is diverse, ranging from leading the Radical Party in the Dutch parliament, to living in Africa as Acting Head of the Economics Department, University of Zambia. He is also the author of a number of books and articles on issues like poverty and the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.

Mr. Pim Verhallen

Pim Verhallen is Policy Advisor and works with the human rights policy department in ICCO, drawing on significant experience acquired through leading the Latin America Department in ICCO and working extensively in Bolivia and Peru for the Dutch Foreign Ministry and local civil society organisations. His work now focuses on civil society strengthening and accountability for development, civil society movements, such as the World Social Forum, and fostering greater integration between human rights and development work.

Dr. Rachel Kurian

Dr Rachel Kurian is a Senior Lecturer in International Labour Economics at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague. She has degrees in Mathematics and Economics, and has studied at the Universities of Madras, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, University of Cambridge, UK and University of Amsterdam where she completed her Ph.D in 1989. Dr. Kurian’s interests lie in the arena of migration, human rights, poverty, gender, trade unions, and labour (including child labour) in the context of economic restructuring – a focus reflected in her publications and current curriculum: Politics of Alternative Development Human Rights, Development and Social Justice Feminist strategies of development, Social exclusion and Human Rights, and Migration and Development. Her wide-ranging interest and expertise is corroborated by extensive field experience in Asia (Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and South Korea), Latin America (Colombia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador), the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados) and Africa (Mauritius, Tanzania). Professional profile.

Ms Erica Wortel

The most recent addition to the Equalinrights Steering Committee, Ms Erica Wortel is an independent Consultant and Interim manager in the Development Sector since 2005. Prior to that, her  career spanned 20 years of involvement in the Development Sector (from women’s projects in Nicaragua to Head of the Latin America Department in ICCO). In the last five years, she has worked with different organizations (Share Net-interim coordinator, Wemos-interim director, AMREF interim program coordinator, ICCO interim coordinator Capacity Development), involved in policy-formulation processes (FNV, HIVOS). She was the driving force behind  the APRODEV ‘Budgeting Human Rights’ project and worked with WEMOS on several projects on the Right to Health. Ms Wortel has extensive experience of the national and international development arena, a broad (inter)national network, and a practical approach to translating strategic issues.