WCC Announce UN Seminar into Human Rights in Iraq

The World Council of Churches has announced a seminar to take place at its Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on Tuesday 22nd March 2005. The seminar will look into the responsibility of the United Nations for Human Rights in Iraq, and will focus on the norms and principles that should apply to the situation in Iraq.

The event will be held between 1pm and 4pm with the hope of facilitating a dialogue on the responsibilities of the international community and the UN human rights machinery.

The WCC has publicised a number of main speakers to attend the seminar. Among them are:

- Salim Lone, former UN director and senior advisor to Sergio de Mello at the time of the attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad,
- Theo Van Boven, former UN special rapporteur on torture and professor of international law, and
- Louise Doswald-Beck, director of the Centre for International Humanitarian Law, former secretary general of the International Commission of Jurists, and former head of the legal department of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The seminar has been purposely scheduled for the second anniversary of the strike against Iraq, and has been opened to participants in the current 61st session on the Commission on Human Rights, which is taking place between 12th March till 22nd April 2005. In addition, the WCC has stated that it also invites members of the diplomatic mission in Geneva.

The WCC report that the seminar organisers, the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Working Group on Iraq, and the UN, hope that the discussions will be filled with "well-informed discussions" on the severe situation in Iraq, and that a clear way forward can be seen regarding the obligations of the international community in standing up for human rights.

The WCC announced for the seminar the following:

Beginning at 13:00 and ending at 16:00, the programme will consist of c.40-minute presentations, followed by a discussion:
- "The right to self-determination in Iraq" - Salim Lone
- "Torture and human rights in Iraq" - Theo Van Boven
- "Humanitarian law in Iraq" - Louise Doswald-Beck
- Discussion