Board of Directors | Foundation For the Future

Chair of the Board of Directors

Dr. Cornelio Sommaruga, Switzerland

Dr. Cornelio Sommaruga is a prominent Swiss humanitarian, lawyer and diplomat best known for being President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1987 to 1999. During his tenure, the budget and the international activities of the Committee increased considerably. He maintained the neutrality of the ICRC while keeping close ties to all governments of states signatory of the Geneva conventions. Currently Dr. Sommaruga is the honorary President of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, as well as the honorary President of Initiatives of Change International in Caux (Switzerland). Prior to that and since 1960, he had a long and distinguished career serving as a diplomat, Deputy Secretary-General of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in Geneva and as Ambassador Delegate of the Swiss Government for Trade Agreements. Moreover, Dr. Sommaruga served as the State Secretary of Switzerland for Economic Affairs from 1984 to 1986.

Vice Chair of the Board of Directors

Kamel Abu Jaber, Jordan

Dr. Kamel S. Abu Jaber has been President of the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy since 1997. Formerly, he served as Minister of the Economy, as a Senator in the Jordan upper house of parliament and as Minister of Foreign Affairs for Jordan. Dr. Abu Jaber had previously held the positions of Professor of Political Science, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce, and Director of the Strategic Studies Centre at the University of Jordan. He is the author of numerous publications and papers.

Secretary of the Foundation for the Future

Parvez Hassan, Pakistan

Dr. Parvez Hassan is the Senior Partner of Hassan & Hassan (Advocates) in Pakistan and also currently the President of the Pakistan Environmental Law Association. He has been actively involved in rule of law issues in Pakistan throughout the duration of his career. He led the nation-wide lawyers’ movement in 1983 against General Zia ul Haq. Later, in November 2007, he was brutalized by the police and arrested in a lawyers rally against General Pervez Musharraf. He is also the founder of the Dr. Parvez Hassan Environmental Law Centre at the University Law College at Punjab University and the co-founder of the Asia-Pacific Centre of Environmental Law in Singapore.

Treasurer of the Foundation foe the Future, and Chair of the Finance & Audit

Abdul Hassan Buhusian, Bahrain

Mr. Abdul Hassan was Chief Executive Director of the Bahraini Civil Service Bureau until 1996. Prior to this, he was Undersecretary for Ministry of Information, and then a Member and Second Deputy of the appointed Shura Council. He was Member of Directors of Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), as well as Board Chairman and Managing Director of BAI, Bahrain Atomizer International (BAI). He now owns his own business, providing management consultancy services to private companies in Bahrain.

Chair Grants Committee

Sabine Gürtner, Germany

Ms. Sabine Gürtner worked for several years with Infratest, a social and economic research institute in Germany, and as a research analyst on labour market policy and employment strategies in Europe in Italy. In 2003 she followed a call to establish and to coordinate an NGO-Network and Think Tank “WOMNET” to address and to promote women’s and human rights, global governance, social development perspectives and the participation of civil society organizations in international processes through capacity-building, policy dialogue, networking, analysis and research.

Members

Bakhtiar Amin, Iraq

Dr. Bakhtiar Amin has served as Minister of Human Rights of Iraq and Executive Director of the International Alliance for Justice (IAJ), which coordinates a network of 275 international non-governmental organizations from more than 120 countries. He has 20 years of experience in the field of international human rights and humanitarian work and has worked extensively on issues involving minorities, indigenous peoples, women's rights, land mines, the International Criminal Court, freedom of expression, liberating prisoners and conflict resolution.

Chief Judge Robert Henry, USA

In a public service career spanning nearly three decades, Judge Robert H. Henry has been honored to serve in each branch of the US Government. He held the positions of Dean and Professor of Law at the Oklahoma City University School of Law, and in 1994, President Clinton appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In 2008, he became Chief Judge. Judge Henry is also a member of the Board of Directors for the VERA Institute of Justice and is a Life Member of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the National State Attorneys General Program, on the Advisory Board for the Judicial Outreach Program of the American Society of International Law, and is on the Board of the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative and is currently Chair of its Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Council. He has recently been appointed as President of Oklahoma City University.

Andreu Claret Serra, Spain

Mr. Andreu Claret is the Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation, which promotes dialogue between countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region. He has also served as the director of the Spanish News Agency (EFE) for sub-Saharan Africa and Central America. Mr. Claret returned to Spain as the Chief of EFE News Agency in Barcelona (1992-2000). As an expert on international affairs, he has published analysis in the most important Spanish newspapers and in international magazines. His interests lie in the challenges of developing countries, relations between the West and the Arab world, Spanish foreign policy in the Mediterranean space, as well as in the interaction between cultures, civilisations and the role of civil societies.

Amal Basha, Yemen

Ms. Amal Basha is the Chairperson for Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF) in Sana’a, Yemen. She is an active member of Yemeni Civil Society and has written a number of papers on gender, human rights, justice and citizenship. She holds a Masters degree in International Development & Gender from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, Brighton, England.

Zahira Kamal, Palestine

Ms. Zahira Kamal is the Director of Palestinian Women Research and Documentation Center (UNESCO project). She was appointed as the first Minister of Women's Affairs of the Palestinian Authority in November 2003. During the period 1996-2003, Ms. Kamal was the Director General of the Gender Planning and Development Directorate at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. She has also worked at UNDP as Director of the Women in Development Program and is currently a Board member of several Palestinian women's NGOs. She is one of the founders of the International Women Commission for Just Peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

President

Mrs. Nabila Hamza

Mrs. Nabila Hamza is the President of the Foundation for the Future (FFF) which is an independent international nonprofit organization established in 2005. She has dedicated herself fully to the mission and detailed activities of this important organization, with a constant devotion to support the civil society initiatives in their efforts to promote democracy and human rights in the Broader MENA region, the Foundation for the Future remains profoundly committed to enhancing and strengthening Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in their efforts to advance democracy building and Human Rights protection. Thus, in recognition of her significant role in the Foundation’s continuing efforts to support civil society initiatives; the Arab Pioneer and Innovators Forum granted an honoring award to Ms. Nabila Hamza in November 2009. This award formed an occasion to disseminate information on the Foundation’s achievements as a reliable and credible partner to civil society organizations for the promotion of human rights and democracy in the region.

Prior to her work at the Foundation for the Future, Mrs. Hamza has been the Executive Director of the Arab women Center for Training and research (CAWTAR), a regional center based in Tunisia and funded by UNDP, UNFPA and IPPF. She has worked as Expert in the League of Arab States for 10 years.

Mrs. Hamza held various leading positions in the Public Sector in Tunisia and worked as a consultant for UNDP, UNFPA, the European Commission, the Economic and Social Commission for Eastern Asia (ESCWA). She has been the Coordinator of many regional programs, such as the Regional Program for "Combating violence against women" (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI). She was also nominated as member of the High National Commission in charge of elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and Member of the National Commission for Equal opportunities in TUNISIA.

Ms Hamza is a well-recognized researcher in social and political science and gender Expert. She holds an MA in International Relations and Political Sciences from the University of Sorbonne in Paris. She has published and contributed to a wide range of books and articles on public policies, social development, good governance, gender issues, poverty alleviation and employment in the Arab region. She participated to the elaboration of the first Arab Human Development Report, issued by UNDP.

Moreover, Mrs. Hamza has been a founding member of several women's rights and development associations through which she acquired a wide knowledge of civil society organizations in the Arab countries.

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