Political Salon: `Human Rights in Iran: The Role of the International Community`

World Policy Institute and CDS International present:
Human Rights in Iran:  The Role of the International Community

A Political Salon with
Barbara Lochbihler, German Member of the European Parliament, and
Geneive Abdo, fellow and Iran analyst at The Century Foundation
Moderated by Sebastian Gräfe, Heinrich Böll Stiftung North America 
 
As more time passes since the disputed June 2009 election in Iran that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, the Iranian regime's campaign of repression against its own citizens deepens. Now more than ever, the segment of the Iranian population seeking positive change feels depleted and disillusioned. During the election crisis, the United States was muted in its criticism of the regime, for fear that the appearance of US government support would weaken the opposition, but controversy remains over whether that was the best approach. Last summer marked the second meeting of the Iran-U.S. advisory group, which brought together Iranian academics, former officials in the regime who have now joined the opposition, Iranian activists with ties to the opposition, European and American experts, and officials and diplomats to discuss the human rights situation in Iran and appropriate responses from the United States and European Union.  Their findings, published in the joint Boell & Century Foundation's policy paper, `Placing Human Rights Violations in Iran on Top of the Foreign Policy Agenda,` highlight ways in which the regime is vulnerable to international criticism. They also emphasized how Iranian activists and civil society can benefit from international attention. This discussion will address ways to coordinate efforts to highlight violations and support civil society without allowing Iran to argue to its citizens that international support for human rights is only a closet effort by the West to topple the regime.

In this Political Salon, MEP and longtime human rights activist Barbara Lochbihler and co-author Geneive Abdo discuss the report's findings and the stance of the international community towards Iran. Sebastian Gräfe, co-author of the report and Program Director for Foreign & Security Policy for the Böll Foundation's Transatlantic Relations program in Washington DC, will moderate.

RSVP:
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