Wissam al-Saliby has been appointed president of the 21Wilberforce Global Freedom Center, following the center’s founder and now president emeritus, Randel Everett.
Al-Saliby is an expert in international religious freedom and human rights who brings years of experience in advocating for religious freedom at the United Nations, training and capacity building for human rights in the Middle East and around the world, and strategic leadership and organizational development.
“Wissam brings years of experience advocating for religious freedom for all at the highest levels,” said 21Wilberforce board member Knox Thames. “Wissam’s heart for the suffering has been widely recognized, especially his leadership and expertise that brings together meaningful government engagement and substantive grassroots training. With religious persecution spreading like a plague, 21Wilberforce, under the leadership of Wissam and the 21Wilberforce team, will continue to have a profound impact that protects religious freedom around the world and helps many who have faced the pain of persecution.”
Wissam al-Saliby
Previously, al-Saliby served as advocacy officer and then director of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, for the World Evangelical Alliance, a network of 140 national alliances representing 600 million evangelical Christians.
Before that, he served as development and partner relations manager at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously co-founded and managed the Summer School on Law and Armed Conflict in Lebanon. He also served as the national coordinator and lead trainer for Geneva Call in Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and traveled across the Middle East region for seven years training numerous multi-faith religious leaders, civil society groups, armed groups and political parties in strengthening human rights and the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
Al-Saliby graduated from Lebanese University with a bachelor’s degree in law with distinction and then earned from the Université Paul Cézanne in France a master’s degree in international law with a specialization in protection and human security.
“I am grateful for the ethos and vision of 21Wilberforce, which was cultivated under the leadership of Randel Everett,” he said. “As president of 21Wilberforce, I will be committed to serving and strengthening local church leaders around the globe facing discrimination, adversity and persecution. I look forward to walking alongside them and exploring how we can partner in prayer, capacity building, resourcing and giving them a seat at the table in international forums.”
He called 21Wilberforce “one of the best-positioned organizations to undertake such an endeavor” and said it will be most effective “as it brings the voices of local leaders to the forefront of advocacy and diplomacy for religious freedom and the rule of law.”
21Wilberforce works globally to protect and advance religious freedom, human rights and justice by mobilizing and resourcing churches and Christian leaders in countries of persecution. It seeks to influence policy decision-making, intervention and advocacy efforts in governments, multilateral agencies and international forums.
The organization takes its name from 19th-century British parliamentarian William Wilberforce, who identified the slave trade as the single greatest violation of human rights. He led a successful abolition movement using a “top-down, bottom-up” strategy featuring collaborative partnerships, grassroots empowerment and policy campaigns.