Irene Khan
Irene Khan | |
|---|---|
Khan in 2024 | |
| UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression | |
| Assumed office July 2020 | |
| Preceded by | David Kaye |
| Director-General of the International Development Law Organization | |
| In office January 2012 – December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | William T. Loris |
| Succeeded by | Jan Beagle |
| Chancellor of the University of Salford | |
| In office 2009–2015 | |
| Preceded by | Professor Sir Martin Harris |
| Succeeded by | Jackie Kay |
| Secretary-General of Amnesty International | |
| In office 2001–2009 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre Sané |
| Succeeded by | Salil Shetty |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Irene Zubaida Khan 24 December 1956 Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi, British |
| Relatives | Mahbub Ali Khan (Uncle) Zubaida Rahman (Cousin) |
| Education | Law |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester Harvard Law School |
Irene Zubaida Khan (Bengali: আইরিন জুবাইদা খান; born 24 December 1956) is a Bangladeshi British lawyer and human rights activist. She is serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression and opinion.
She previously served as the seventh Secretary General of Amnesty International (from 2001 to 2009). In 2011, she was elected Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) in Rome, an intergovernmental organization that works to promote the rule of law, and sustainable development. She was a consulting editor of The Daily Star in Bangladesh from 2010 to 2011.