| Amir Attaran | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Professor, University of Ottawa |
| Known for | Canadian Afghan detainee issue |
Amir Attaran is a Canadian lawyer, immunologist, and law professor.
Currently, Attaran is Associate Professor of Law and Population Health and the holder of the Canada Research Chair in Law, Population Health and Global Development Policy at the University of Ottawa.
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Attaran was born in California [1] to immigrants from Iran.
He has earned a B.A. from UC Berkeley, a law degree from the University of British Columbia, M.S. (Caltech), LL.B. (UBC) and a D.Phil in immunology from the University of Oxford.
Attaran is a naturalized Canadian.
Attaran is extensively involved with malaria advocacy. Cooperating with the organization Africa Fighting Malaria, he has argued publicly for the renewed use of DDT in sub-Saharan Africa to combat malaria. A famous 2004 article authored by Attaran in The Lancet was sharply critical of the WHO for approving ineffective malaria medicines such as chloroquine in a manner tantamount to "medical malpractice".[1] Shortly after that article and a pressure campaign led by Attaran, global policy changed very quickly to make use of artemisinin class medicines.
In 2004, Attaran wrote an opinion piece with Shirin Ebadi, published in the New York Times, arguing that the World Bank should incorporate democratic principles in its funding criteria, and avoid funding dictatorships.
On September 9, 2005, he wrote another opinion piece in the Times criticizing the United Nations for not adopting quantifiable metrics for its Millennium Development Goals.
In February 2007, he received significant media coverage in Canada when he brought forward testimony by Afghan prisoners captured by Canadians and handed to the custody of the Afghan National Army, who said they had later been abused by the ANA. [1] [2] [3]