Kamel is a Tunisian journalist and human rights defender with many years of media experience. Following the 2011 revolution he became president of the National Authority for Reform of Information and Communication (INRIC) in Tunisia, and was a prominent campaigner within the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) before establishing Vigilance. He has also worked as a consultant on the Middle East and North Africa for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Kamel has a long history working in journalism and has contributed pieces on peace, conflict, and human rights in his region to many US and Arab publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Herald Tribune, Annahar, and Al-Masry El-Youm. Kamel has also worked for various papers, news agencies, Reporters Sans Frontières, and Amnesty International.