Announcing a public discussion on Darfur, Sudan The Role of Science in a Humanitarian Crisis. The event, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science will feature keynote addresses by Juan Mendez, UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide and President of the International Center for Transitional Justice and and Andrew Natsios, Administrator of USAID, as well as presentations by other speakers. It will highlight the special contributions of science, particularly the role that remote sensing (satellite imaging, ground penetrating radar, and aerial photography) can play in identifying human rights violations and humanitarian crises. It The discussion will take place on Wednesday, October 20, 2004 from 100 PM-500 PM in the AAAS auditorium, located at 1200 New York Ave NW ( entrance at the corner of H and 12th St). Please RSVP to Sarah Olmstead at (202) 326 - 6787 or by email at solmstea@aaas.org Full Desription Darfur, Sudan is experiencing a serious human rights and humanitarian crisis which is being characterized by some as a case of genocide. An estimated 200,000 civilians--men, woman, and children--mostly from the black, non-Arab Fur, Zaghawa and Masaalit groups, have been victims of a government-supported Arab group of militias known collectively as the "Janjaweed." About 1.4 million people, out of an estimated population of 6.5 million in the Darfur region of Sudan, are internally displaced and more than 230,000 people have fled into neighboring Chad. Food is not available for many of those in the refugee camps and health conditions are very poor as the international community races to provide much needed aid. The conflict has both ethnic and economic dimensions. In the midst of this serious crisis, scientific advances have been used to document and track human rights abuses. Satellite imagery and remote sensing have provided policymakers with evidence of massive refugee flows and the destruction of whole villages in the region. Anthropologists familiar with the region have provided the context for understanding the roots of the conflict. Medical professionals have provided life saving health measures for displaced men, woman and children. This event will provide the scientific community with an opportunity to learn more about the current situation in Darfur and the role science can play in human rights and humanitarian emergencies. For more information about Darfur, see the summary and resources in the Emerging Issues section of the Science and Human Rights website. Space is limited, please RSVP to Sarah Olmstead (solmstea@aaas.org ) via email by Monday, October 18, 2004. Agenda 100-145 pm Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and Special Coordinator for International Disaster Assistance and Special Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sudan 145-215 pm Presentation of the satellite imagery of Sudan David Springer, Geospatial Analyst, Humanitarian Information Unit, State Department 215-230 pm break 230-330 pm Panel Discussion on Sudan and the Role of Science * Stephanie Frease, Coalition for International Justice * Taylor B. Seybolt, United States Institute of Peace 330-415 pm Juan E. Mendez, President of the International Center for Transitional Justice and the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide 430-500 pm Open Forum on the Next Steps for the Scientific Community Sarah Olmstead Science and Human Rights Program American Association for the Advancement of Science 1200 New York Ave Washington, D.C. 20005 http//shr.aaas.org Office 202 - 326 - 6787 Fax 202 - 289 - 4950 ========== HURIDOCS-Tech listserv ========== Send mail intended for the list to <huridocs-tech@hrea.org>. Archives of the list can be found at: http://www.hrea.org/lists/huridocs-tech/markup/maillist.php To subscribe to the list, send a message to <majordomo@hrea.org>, with the following text in the message: subscribe huridocs-tech To unsubscribe from the list, send a message to <majordomo@hrea.org>, with the following text in the message: unsubscribe huridocs-tech If you have problems (un)subscribing, contact <owner-huridocs-tech@hrea.org>.
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