Brussels, 22/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Human Rights, chaired by German Christian Democrat Elmar Brok, is organising in the afternoon of 26 February in Brussels a public hearing on the theme "Iraq and the international community". Work will cover the following aspects:
- Political situation and human rights in Iraq, with addresses by Wilfried Kreisel and Samir Ben Yahmed, from the World Health Organisation; Mohammed Ali, from the Iraqi National Congress; the representative for the human rights alliance Amin Bakhtiar; and Driss El Yazami, from the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH).
- Assessment of the sanctions policy against Iraq, with speeches by Hans C. Graf von Sponeck, former official for the UN programme "Food for Oil"; Marc Bossuyt, Professor in international law at the University of Antwerp; and Denis Vienot, President of Caritas Europe.
- How to bring about changes in Iraq?, with the participation of Rend Rahim Francke, Director of the Iraq Foundation, and Jacques Beltran, researcher at IFRI (Institut français des relations internationales).
Conclusions will be drawn by Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne, British Liberal Democrat and Parliament rapporteur on Iraq.