- published: 02 Feb 2016
- views: 76
Adama (Oromo Adaamaa or Hadaamaa, Ge'ez ኣዳማ ādāmā), better known as Nazret or Nazreth (ናዝሬት nāzrēt), is a city in central Ethiopia and the previous capital of the Oromia Region. Adama forms a Special Zone of Oromia and is surrounded by Misraq Shewa Zone. It's located at 8°33′N 39°16′E / 8.55°N 39.27°E / 8.55; 39.27 at an elevation of 1712 meters, 99 km southeast of Addis Ababa. The city sits between the base of an escarpment to the west, and the Great Rift Valley to the east.
Adama is a busy transportation center. The city is situated along the road that connects Addis Ababa with Dire Dawa. A large number of trucks use this same route to travel to and from the seaports of Djibouti and Asseb (though the latter is not currently used by Ethiopia, following the Eritrean-Ethiopian War). Additionally, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad runs through Adama.
Adama University (formerly Adama Technical Teachers College) is located in Adama. Adama Stadium is the home of Adama City FC, a member of the Ethiopian Football Federation league.
Adama Dieng (born May 22, 1950, Senegal) is a former board member of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Adama Dieng holds degrees in Law from Dakar University (CFPA) and in International Law from the Research Centre of The Hague Academy of International Law. His legal career started in Senegal where he held several positions before becoming registrar of Supreme Court of Senegal and, from 1976 to 1982, personal assistant to its President. He then served as Legal Officer of Africa for the International Commission of Jurists from 1982 to 1989, Executive Secretary (1989-1990) and Secretary-General from October 1990 to May 2000.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed him in January 2001 as the Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He has worked as a consultant for many international organizations including UNITAR, the Organisation of African Unity, the Ford Foundation, UNESCO, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. He is a council member of the Observatoire Panafricain de la Démocratie, a member of the executive committee of Africa Leadership Forum and a board member of the International Institute of Human Rights. Dieng strongly criticized the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.