(Update: Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah on en.wikipedia;
) – Linked with Physicians for Human Rights PHR.
Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah is the Medical Treatment Director of the Amel Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Sudan, a leading Sudanese Darfuri-led human rights organization. Despite being surrounded by the on-going brutal conflict in Darfur, Dr. Ahmed has been steadfast in his efforts to rectify the region’s human rights crisis through serving victims of torture and providing leadership in the movement for peace. Dr. Ahmed is renowned for creating a network of health professionals in Darfur to provide quality care to the victims of violence and to ensure the human rights of all Darfuri people. Dr. Ahmed has represented the Fur tribe, the majority ethnic group in Darfur, in national and international forums and negotiations for peace in Sudan … and: (he is the) Medical Director (of the) Amel Center for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, Nyala, Darfur … and: In addition to his medical work with Amel Center in Nyala and El Fasher, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed has participated actively in the “human rights movement” in Sudan during the period 1998 -2007 also taking various courses in human rights, including the training series on international standards for documentation of torture in 2005 and 2006 organized by Physicians for Human Rights and Redress together with Amel Center, Khartoum. The most recent training occurred in July 2006 at Nyala Farmers Hall (Dr. Mohammed’s remarks from this training program on torture in the context of Darfur are found on PHR’s website under the Darfur Survival Campaign in Susannah Sirkin’s “blog” from Darfur. As a leading voice and advocate for his victimized people, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed was a member of a delegation that met US Special Representative Robert Zoellick at the Kalma camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 2005 where he raised a variety of human rights and health issues. He has actively participated as a leader in addressing major community problems in his native region of Darfur …
.
.
Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah – Soudan
… and: Dr. Mohammed works every day as a physician. His work as a community leader and rights advocate are a complement to his core commitment to use his professional skills to benefit victims of violence and human rights abuse … Since the war started in Darfur in 2002-2003, Dr. Mohammed and his colleagues have been deeply involved in treating survivors of torture and rape through their work in Nyala Hospital. As conditions continued to deteriorate and violence persisted, with massive displacement and large numbers of IDPs settling in camps outside the major towns of Darfur, Dr. Mohammed was inspired to join Amel Center and started professional work there in 2004. In Darfur, Amel Center’s mandate is documentation of torture, sexual violence and other crimes, provision of medical and psychological treatment of survivors, and legal aid with protection. As Dr. Mohammed wrote to us: “Right now, Darfur is a big prison for the IDPs and those living in towns. For the last seven years, Darfur has been under marshal laws which enable anybody to be arrested, tortured, or even killed. In July 2006 the Amel Center’s coordinater, Massad Ali was arrested for two weeks. The Center’s legal aid coordinator was harassed and tortured by the security forces, making the work environment for Amel one of constant intimidation and risk. In spite of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the North and South of Sudan, and in spite of commitments made by the Government when it signed the Darfur Peace Agreement in 2006, there is no rule of law and arbitrary detentions, especially of those opposed to the Agreement itself, continue”. In late 2006 and early 2007, conditions have worsened will many non-governmental organizations pulling out due to the unfavorable security conditions … (full long bio on The George Washington University, Medical Center, (by Susannah Sirkin, Deputy Director of Physicians for Human Rights, October 2007).
… Dr. Ahmed is also a respected community leader, peace negotiator and human rights advocate. He represents the voice of indigenous leadership that is not heard from in reporting on Darfur … (full text, 14 November 07).
Listen to actual chat audio on selected questions: Erin: Welcome to T2A for November 15th. We’re meeting Darfur rights activist Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdalla. He is medical treatment director for Darfur’s leading indigenous human rights organization. The Amel Center for the Treatment & Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture works in Nyala, al-Fashir and the surrounding encampments of internally displaced people. Dr. Mohammed Ahmed is the 2007 recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Human Rights Award being presented in Washington Friday … (full text with different mp3- and Real-audios, 14 November 07).
Dr Abdallah said: “In the hospital, we are seeing more cases of malnutrition and infectious diseases we have not seen in a long time, such as polio, measles and tuberculosis. In addition to killing, [government forces] are using violence or the threat of violence to force others to leave the camps. In the last two weeks, at a camp near Nyala, soldiers and police carrying sticks and rubber hoses threatened IDPs, while tents were destroyed and property was carried away in trucks. Approximately 1,000 IDPs were forced onto trucks at gunpoint and were dumped in the outskirts of the city.” Dr Abdallah told the audience that immediately before leaving for Washington D.C. he had met with the leaders of 27 tribal groups: “Today, I speak on their behalf. I also speak on behalf of my patients – 14-year-old girls who have been gang raped in front of their families, men and boys thrown into the fire that also burned their villages and all their possessions, prisoners who have spoken out against the government and paid for it with awful torture and mutilation of their bodies […] We need the immediate protection of civilians before peace talks can take place” … (full text IRCT, 23. Nov 2007).
Doctor Warns of Darfur Camp Expulsions … WASHINGTON (AP) – A prominent doctor who treats displaced people in Darfur says the Sudanese government is risking the deaths of hundreds of thousands by forcing people out of the camps where they receive humanitarian aid. Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, who runs a human rights group in south Darfur’s capital, Nyala, said he has seen evidence backing a recent U.N. claim that the government was chasing people out of nearby camps … (full text, 11/12/2007).
… Recently awarded for his commitment to human rights, 54 year-old Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah is a respected community leader, peace negotiator and human rights advocate who battles adversity to protect torture survivors and seek sustainable peace in Darfur. Based in Darfur, Dr. Abdallah is a physician and medical treatment director at the Amel Center for the Treatment & Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, Darfurs leading indigenous human rights organization.The Amel Center operates as an independent entity that offers services and support to survivors of torture and sexual violence while documenting violence and human rights abuses, torture and rape. When asked about the future of Darfur at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Ceremony, his plea was simple: to provide equipment to UNAMID, the UN-AU joint hybrid peacekeeping force for Darfur. Otherwise, if the international community does nothing to provide the equipment, « the result will be absolute disaster, we will have another Rwanda » … (full text).
On 9 September 2006 at 12.15pm Mohamed Badawi Mohamed Badawi, human rights lawyer and coordinator of the Amel Centre for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in el Fashir was summoned to the office of the National Security in el Fashir. Mr. Badawi immediately reported to the Security Offices and remained there until 3.30pm when he was released without charge. Mr. Badawi was not interrogated but was ordered to report again to the offices the following day, 10 September 2006 at 9.15am. Mr. Badawi reported to the National Security Offices in el Fashir at 9.15am on 10 September 2006 where he was held until 3pm. He was interrogated by Security Officers about the activities of the Amel Centre, the relationship between the Amel Centre and international organisations and the relationship between the Amel Centre and the Communist Party. He was released without charge. Background: SOAT’s partner organisation in Sudan, the Amel Centre for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture has offices in Khartoum, Nyala and el Fashir. The Amel Centre provides legal aid to victims of torture and sexual violence and represents individuals at risk of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments including the death penalty and amputations … (full text).
… In an effort to provide relevant, clear information on the devastating situation in Darfur and empower concerned individuals to act effectively to end the on-going genocide, twenty-year-old feature film director Danny Mendoza has assembled a team of volunteers to launch and run a multi-faceted campaign for activism and social justice. The independently financed documentary, “Familiar Voices” is at the heart of a multi-media campaign that aims to empower its audience so that they may engage in effective social and political action. This galvanizing film is built on the contributions of activists, experts, and concerned citizens from a wide variety of backgrounds, including: actress and UNICEF ambassador Mia Farrow; professor and Sudan activist Eric Reeves; Nobel Peace Prize winners Jody Williams and Elie Wiesel; Senator Romeo Dallaire of Canada; RFK Humanitarian Award recipient Dr. Mohammad Ahmed Abdallah; Congressman Jim McGovern; interfaith activist Ruth Messinger; and a variety of individuals whose first-hand experience offer a clear and moving portrait of the crisis … (full text).
… If Darfur’s displaced persons camps are dispersed and the population is forced to flee into the bush, the consequences could be devastating, experts warn. « If these people are expelled from the IDP camps, they are going to die — either by starvation, dehydration, or malnutrition, » said Ahmed at a press conference here on Monday. « And the other thing is that the janjaweed will be waiting. » Reports from the ground in Darfur are limited, but some have described a security situation that is very poor, and deteriorating. Travelers by road in Darfur face dozens of checkpoints and demands for bribes, some sponsored by the government and many that are not, Ahmed said, and U.N. aid groups are « handicapped » by looting of their trucks and supplies. Furthermore, many of the estimated 200 to 300 displaced persons camps in Darfur are located in extremely rural areas, some accessible only by helicopter — making it difficult for humanitarian workers to reach the vulnerable populations should they be expelled from camps … (full text).
links:
List of International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims members;
United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women – African Women and Information and Communication Technologies ICTs, 7 pdf-pages;
Learn about Gender issues, The role of women in development and why gender equality matters: GENDER-GUIDE;
FEMNET: Statement for the General Debate at the World Summit on the Information Society WSIS;
The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (Nairobi, Kenya): also on SOUL BEAT AFRICA, on Sociolongo’s Africa, on theFreeLibrary, on ArabInfoMall, on acquireContent, on changemakeers;
Solidarity for African Women’s Rights SOAWR;
The Edler’s Darfur Mission to Sudan, and The Elders:
Striving for the fundamental human rights of civilians in Darfur.