March 10, 2003

Speaker to Discuss Human Rights in Iraq, March 13
The Rev. Robert Evans will speak on "The Present Human Rights Status of the People of Iraq" at the Dodd Center's Konover Auditorium on March 13, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Evans traveled to Iraq in January as a member of a 13-person religious delegation visiting the country under the auspices of the National Council of Churches. The delegation visited schools and hospitals and saw the devastating impact of 12 years of sanctions on the Iraqi people.

The Rev. Robert Evans

Evans is a founding executive director of the Simsbury-based Plowshares Institute and senior fellow of the Centre for Conflict Resolution at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The Institute and the Centre helped form an independent coalition, Empowering for

Reconciliation with Justice, that has trained more than 1,300 South African religious and community leaders and 40 trainers in mediation, negotiation, and peace building.

An ordained Presbyterian pastor, Evans has served churches in the United States and Europe. He also has taught in the United States and other countries, and is now adjunct professor of theology and ethics at the Hartford Seminary.

Evans and his wife, Alice, were nominated by members of the South African Parliament for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

The event is co-sponsored by the World Federalist Association, Mansfield chapter; the UNESCO Chair and Institute of Comparative Human Rights; and the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.