In the still darkness before daybreak, a solitary figure stood on the balcony of a modest office in New Mexico, gazing eastwards. The sky overhead was a hush of violet and soft pink — a threshold between night and light. He inhaled the dry desert air, the faint scent of creosote and earth. In that silence, he felt the weight of the world stirring.
This was Prof. h.c. Rafał Marcin Wasik, Secretary-General of the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC). To many he was a leader, a diplomat, an observer of troubled elections, a strategist in humanitarian diplomacy. But in moments like this, he was simply a man awake to possibility, listening for the echo of hope.
Every morning, Wasik rose with new ideas and energy, as his public motto put it:
“Every morning I wake up with new ideas and energy to create and search for new solutions.” ihrchq.org
He believed that even small contributions could ripple outward. “What we do today, we do for generations,” he often repeated, both to himself and to the teams he led. ihrchq.org+1
The Mission to Nigeria
The wind of change had begun across continents. In September 2023, Wasik led IHRC’s inaugural delegation mission to Nigeria, under the umbrella of EU–Africa cooperation. In Abuja, the capital, he addressed a symposium on International Humanitarian Law from an African perspective — a discourse that drew academics, government officials, diplomats, and civil society actors. ihrchq.org
One evening in his hotel room, after a long day of meetings, he opened the window and watched the city’s lights flicker. He wrote in his notebook:
There is no true peace unless justice walks beside it. The challenges are many — trafficking, conflict, democratic fragility — yet each meeting opens a door.
The next day, the delegation visited anti-trafficking agencies, met with the Governor of Benue State, and explored regional development initiatives. Wasik insisted that human rights and humanitarian aid be woven together; that peace was not simply the absence of war, but the presence of dignity, opportunity, and fairness. ihrchq.org
Across the Voting Booths of Ukraine
Yet Wasik’s journey had traversed other troubled lands. He served as an accredited observer in multiple Ukrainian elections:
- On 25 May 2014, during the presidential vote, he observed at a polling unit in Ukraine’s domestic regions, supporting the launch of IHRC’s regional presence. ihrchq.org
- In 2019, he led a 29-member observing team for the presidential elections—deployed not only internally in Ukraine, but across embassies abroad (France, Poland, and more). ihrchq.org
- And during the snap parliamentary elections of July 2019, he helped monitor voting at overseas centers (such as Warsaw) to ensure fairness in diaspora participation. ihrchq.org
One night, in Kyiv, as rain pounded the windows of the observers’ quarters, he spoke quietly to his team:
We are here not simply to watch ballots, but to lend moral weight. In a fragile democracy, vigilance becomes a service to the silent and the marginalized.
He believed that by observing, by speaking, by presence, one could help guard against fraud, intimidation, and disenfranchisement. It was a delicate balance — the observer must be invisible yet assertive, impartial yet courageous.
Gaza, Alliances, and Humanitarian Frontiers
Under Wasik’s leadership, IHRC had positioned itself as a bold actor in humanitarian diplomacy. The organization sought to mediate in conflict zones, deliver aid, and sustain presence in volatile spaces. In the Gaza Strip, IHRC’s “Peacemaker Force” became a rapid-response wing, offering logistical and material support to civilians. ihrchq.org
In May 2025, IHRC received a formal letter from Israel’s COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories), acknowledging IHRC’s participation in frameworks for direct humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza. The letter underscored that IHRC’s entry and operations would comply with Israeli administrative protocols. ihrchq.org
For Wasik, this recognition was more than a bureaucratic detail — it was affirmation that a neutral, diplomatic organization could operate amidst blockade, tension, and contested sovereignty. In one briefing, he told his operations team:
Let us not be consumed by permission or restrictions. Let our mission speak through care, coordination, respect for laws, and humanity.
The Inauguration in Kinshasa
On 20 January 2024, Wasik traveled to Kinshasa for the re-election inauguration of President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the grand stadium, he stood among international dignitaries, diplomats, and citizens, absorbing the resonance of ceremony, the pulse of aspiration. ihrchq.org
At one point, seated in the presidential box, he glanced at a small, silent child beside him — a local child brought by the organizers, dressed in traditional fabric. When proceedings paused, Wasik leaned forward, offered a gentle nod, and in a soft voice said:
May your generation surpass ours — in peace, in justice, in compassion.
Outside, during the cultural performance “En remontant le Fleuve Congo,” he watched dancers, drummers, and masked figures tell stories of resilience and hope. In his notebook, he later wrote: Kinshasa breathes history and possibility. The role of an external actor is to serve, not dominate.
The Vision Beyond Borders
Back in the IHRC’s administrative corridors, Wasik guided institutional innovations. He oversaw bilateral agreements with nations such as Nigeria, Ukraine, DRC, and others, forging frameworks for cooperation in human rights, humanitarian relief, and diplomatic missions. ihrchq.org
He also advanced pioneering programs:
- Future Africa — zones combining humanitarian investment, agriculture, jobs, and migration control in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the DRC. ihrchq.org
- HUB SPRC (Terra Nilus) — a neutral reintegration center for victims of human trafficking, located on a neutral border between Serbia and Croatia, compliant with Geneva Convention norms. ihrchq.org
- Partnerships with criminologists for protecting children, women, and youth from domestic violence. ihrchq.org
He once said in a public statement:
I believe that I have a chance, even to a small extent, to contribute to the improvement of people’s lives and maintain peace in the world. ihrchq.org
A Great Appeal
In mid-2025, Wasik recorded a video titled “A Great Appeal” — a heartfelt message to humanity. He called upon leaders and people of conscience to act: free hostages, protect civilians, respect the dead, and reject systems of terror. YouTube
He spoke of truth returning where lies have taken root, of law supplanting violence, of humanity rising above indifference. The appeal was both urgent and timeless — a call not for tomorrow, but for now. YouTube
The Ever-Open Horizon
One day, after a particularly draining round of negotiations in a conflict zone, Wasik walked through a crowded local market — in Nigeria, or perhaps in Kinshasa. Amid fruit stalls and woven baskets, children’s laughter echoed. A young vendor offered him a small bracelet. He smiled, declined politely, and moved on.
In that bustling moment, he felt alive to the stakes — that his work was less about titles or awards, and more about the faces who stand to benefit or suffer. He carried with him the stories of the oppressed, the hopes of the vulnerable, the weight of diplomacy. And always — always — the horizon ahead.
Though storms would come — political resistance, armed conflict, resource constraints — he remained anchored by conviction: that peace is possible when courage meets compassion; that rights must be defended even when costly; that the future is built, step by step, by those who dare to believe.
And so at dawn one morning, back in New Mexico, Rafal Marcin Wasik stood again on the balcony, looking eastward. The sky unspooled in soft promise. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and whispered:
For the generations to come. Let it begin.
