The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) mourns the passing on 16 January 2026 of the highly-respected and admired Kamel Eddine Labidi, a Tunisian human rights defender and journalist well-known to the human rights community across the Arab region.

Labidi, born in Tunisia on 04 June 1949, passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer in Virginia, the United States, according to his wife Diane Kelly.

“Kamel, this wonderful, kind-hearted, and loyal friend, who worked tirelessly to defend human rights in Tunisia and the Arab world, has passed away quietly. His departure will undoubtedly leave a great void, but we will always remember him as a dear colleague who offered unwavering support to the human rights movement and stood by GCHR from its very inception,” said Khalid Ibrahim, GCHR’s Executive Director.

Labidi worked for many different newspapers across the region, as well as human rights organisations and networks including Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and IFEX. He was essential to the founding and success of the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group, composed of 21 IFEX members ,which was created to promote freedom of expression and assembly, and independence of the judiciary in Tunisia, prior to the revolution in 2011.

In 2011-2012, he led the National Authority to Reform Information and Communication (INRIC), which made important recommendations to reform the media. As President, he was disappointed that INRIC had to close due to the failure of the government to implement the proposed reforms.

Labidi then helped set up the civil society group Vigilance pour la Démocratie et l’Etat Civique which became a member of IFEX. Labidi had a hand in introducing many IFEX members in the Arab world, including GCHR, to each other and was hugely supportive of their work.

He continued his tireless work with unwavering strength in defending imprisoned human rights defenders. In 2019, he attended a protest in Washington near the Emirates Embassy calling on the United Arab Emirates to free human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, a member of the advisory boards of GCHR and Human Rights Watch.

We at GCHR appreciate everything that prominent human rights defender Kamel Labidi did for us and for human rights and media freedom in the region, and our staff will miss him deeply.