About Us
Rights Initiative was founded in 2021 and is registered in The Netherlands as a social enterprise advancing human rights.
We envision a world in which all people enjoy economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights and live in democratic societies with more equal opportunities and distribution of resources and wealth. Our mission is to enhance the resources available to organizations advocating for economic, social and political rights. We are guided by the following values:
- Equality We consider everyone equal, embrace gender equality and diversity.
- Trust We act in trust and seek to gain the trust of our partners through our actions.
- Openness We are open-minded, transparent and honest on expectations and interests.
- Accountability We are accountable and hold each other mutually responsible on commitments.
- Commitment We commit ourselves to advance economic, social and political rights.
Paul Groenewegen Founder. Paul has been working for three decades in the finance, health and development sector. He gained experience in many African and Asian countries. He worked for over 15 years at Oxfam, where he co-founded the global inequality campaign. He holds an MA in Political Science and International relations and is an expert in democratic governance, gender, education, tax justice and budget advocacy. Previously, he worked at the Ministries of Finance and Health and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). He represented the Netherlands at the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union (EU) and in Mongolia.
Alhassan Adam Advisor. Alhassan is currently a Scholar at the University of Greenwich in London. Alhassan is a researcher on private equity investment in health, public policy and citizens participation. He worked for 6 years as the international coordinator of the global End Water Poverty campaign on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. Previously he held senior positions at Development Initiatives, Oxfam and the Africa Water Network. Alhassan is human rights oriented and a fighter for the poor. He believes in social justice and equity.