Amina Bouayach, President of Morocco's National Human Rights Council (CNDH) and Chair of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), received the 2025 Professional Merit Medal in Madrid. The award, presented by the Scientific Committee of the 8th International Conference on Human Rights and Electoral Law, honors her continued dedication to promoting and protecting human rights nationally and internationally. The ceremony, hosted by King Juan Carlos University and the Leader Academy for Advanced Training, was supported by several European universities and Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal. The medal is awarded by academics and judges to recognize outstanding careers in human rights defense. Previous recipients include Roberto de Caldas, former President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and Raquel Caballero, human rights advocate from El Salvador. In a remote address, Bouayach expressed gratitude for the recognition, saying the award «belongs to all human rights defenders worldwide, engaged in a shared daily struggle for dignity, justice, and equality». She emphasized that while elections express the will of the people, they alone do not ensure freedom or rights: «Democracy is not limited to the act of voting, it's a continuous process where public policies must be grounded in human rights». Bouayach noted that genuine democracy rests on strong institutions, a deep-rooted human rights culture, and sustained citizen participation. She highlighted how social mobilization today extends beyond traditional parties or unions, with citizens increasingly organizing through digital platforms, a shift reflecting both declining trust in traditional structures and a search for new spaces to express social demands. She also warned about the growing impact of artificial intelligence and technology on electoral systems and participation, urging that innovation should create «true spaces of citizenship, not just mechanisms of representation». Bouayach concluded by calling for closer cooperation between researchers, human rights defenders, and institutions to address the complex challenges posed by digital transformation and social change.
