Soumia Amrani, the President and Founder of the Autism Morocco Collective (Collectif Autisme Maroc), passed away due to the COVID-19 last week.
She held a number of positions, including as a member with the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CDPH / CRPD) of the UN and as part of the Moroccan National Human Rights Council (CNDH). She was vice-president of the Collective for the Promotion of the Rights of People with Disabilities, and the director of the civil society service under the Directorate of Public Diplomacy and Non-State Actors (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad), amongst others.
She was known for her work and commitment to defending the rights of persons with disabilities. In Morocco and worldwide, her efforts to defend the rights of persons with disabilities, including autistic people, have been recognized by those she worked with as well as organizations that were touched by her dedication.
She took part in many collaborative efforts with us at the International Disability Alliance. From 2011, she participated in many IDA trainings, including in the design of the Training of Trainers, Advocates and Leaders (ToTAL), and the Bridge CRPD-SDGs Initiative. She was also very active during the CRPD Committee’s review of Morocco in 2017, together with the civil society delegation that came to Geneva for the Pre-sessional Working Group and for the Session.
IDA will miss her positive and constructive spirit and enthusiasm for doing what she knew best: advocating for, defending, and raising the collective concerns for the rights of persons with disabilities from all the positions she held.
IDA, its members and its team of work sends their most sincere condolences to Soumia’s family and to the colleagues from the Moroccan disability movement.
