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Democracy in Iran: Visions for Real Change
International gathering of civil society movements, political actors, human rights activists,
ethnic and religious minorities and women’s rights campaigners to take place in the
Chamber of Deputies, Rome.
29‐30 June 2010
The Hague, June 15 2010
To mark the one year anniversary of the disputed presidential elections in Iran, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) together with the Nonviolent Radical Party and Sen. Marco Perduca are holding a conference in the Sala delle Colonne, Chamber of Deputies, Rome on 29th June 2010 followed by a round‐table event on 30th June 2010. The conference, entitled ‘The Democratic Movement in Iran: Pitfalls and Potential’ will bring together 75 politicians, human rights defenders, media agents and representatives of the various religious, ethnic and political groups in Iran. The round‐table discussion on June 30, due to take place at the headquarters of the Nonviolent
Radical Party will be open to all Iranian participants, in order to advance collaboration between different political and civil society actors.
In light of a year which has seen harsh clampdowns on civil uprising and protest, continued
executions without due process, and the controversial election of Iran onto the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the conference and round table are intended to concretely advance the debate on democracy within Iran. The meetings will seek input from a variety of stakeholders on what strategies could be employed to bring about tangible democratic change, but will do so with the full understanding that the diverse and multifaceted Iranian population has as major a role to play within the international community.
Confirmed speakers include; Sen. Emma Bonino, Vice President of the Senate; Sen. Pietro
Marcenaro, Chairman of the Special Committee on Human Rights; Dr. Reza Baraheni, novelist, poet, critic and political activist; Mr. Yousef Azizi Benitorof, Co‐founder of the Iranian Writers Union and member of English PEN; Mr Farokh Negahdar, Co‐founder and elected member of the leadership of The Union for Iranian Republican, Sen. Luigi Compagna, Member of the Italian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE; Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh, Senior Researcher, Centre for Arab & Iranian Studies; Mr. Hassan Sharafi, Vice President Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran; Mr. Shahriar Ahy, Co‐founder of Solidarity Iran; Mr. David Keyes, Director, Cyberdissidents.org;
Ottolenghi, Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracy; Mr. Mark Lattimer, Executive Director, Minority Rights Group International;
The conference on June 29 will take place in English, Italian and Persian. The round table on June 30 will be conducted in Persian only.
For more information:
Maggie Murphy, Office of the General Secretary
Tel: +31(0)70 3646 504 or +393459563381 (in use from June 27‐30) ‐ mmurphy@unpo.
P. O. Box 85878 ‐ 2508 CN The Hague ‐ The Netherlands
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
