Amal Clooney in Sharjah to talk human rights, here's what she said

The famous human rights lawyer is in the UAE to talk about the challenges this region faces. Here’s what she had to say…

Human rights advocate and lawyer Amal Clooney (who is also, famously, the wife of George Clooney) spoke in Sharjah yesterday about the specific challenges around human rights in the Middle East.

The Beirut-born, 38-year-old lawyer was in the UAE to speak at the opening of a government communications summit in Sharjah, which was attended by HH Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the ruler of Sharjah.

*READ MORE: Sheikh Mohammed’s letter on the future of the UAE*

In her rousing speech she noted that Arab countries face “an unprecedented human rights crisis”.

“The first piece of advice I would have from my experience is that governments need to be vocal about human rights,” she told the crowd in her 11 minute speech.

“My advice to you is not only to be vocal and consistent, but also to be principled in communications about human rights. The fourth suggestion I have is to be quick. Governments must be prepared to be transparent and get their message out first,” she implored.

A moment from the speech (click to play):

Clooney went on to discuss how the youth of the region deserve to be met with “dialogue” and “crowd control” not bullets and prison sentences when expressing their opinions.

While many of us know her as the wife of George Clooney, Amal is an incredibly accomplished professional – she represented Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohammed Fahmy who spent a year in prison in Egypt after reporting for Al Jazeera. She was also part of the strong legal team that sought a bigger recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide, during which 1.5 million Armenians are estimated to have been killed.

 Here are some snaps and video of Clooney at the conference: