AHURTOD - Defending Human Rights in Cameroon
The Association of Human Rights and Torture Defenders [AHURTOD] was set up in 2004 by Nkem Bellamin Fonkeng, a graduate from the University of Buea and 14 other dynamic youths. AHURTOD has an office at Long Street, Buea, and it works to promote and defend Human Rights, Good Governance, and Peace in Cameroon. As part of its good governance projects, on 17 March 2007 AHURTOD gave a presentation at the Cameroon Cultural Centre, Buea, to encourage women and youth to register for the upcoming elections and take a stand against electoral fraud and corruption. This conference was well received, and in the coming months AHURTOD will present further seminars on this issue in the town of Tiko and at the University of Buea. AHURTOD is also working to improve educational and vocational opportunities for inmates at the Central Prison, Buea, where illiteracy is a problem and many detained persons are under the age of 25. There is currently one voluntary teacher in the prison, but she is desperately short of basic educational resources, such as a blackboard and chalk. In the coming months, AHURTOD will also be organizing sensitization workshops on the new Criminal Procedure Code, to educate people about their rights, and to explain how the new Code should protect people against illegal detention, torture, and other Human Rights abuses. In all its work, AHURTOD seeks to increase the awareness of Human Rights in Cameroon, and to work in partnership with other specialist agencies. For more information about our projects and current activities, please feel free to visit www.ahurtod.org or email us with your question at ahurtod@ahurtod.org