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Mary Robinson and Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi among distinguished speakers to appear at Rights & Democracy events in Cancun, Mexico.


MONTREAL -  Sept. 2, 2003  -  Internationally-acclaimed human rights advocates Mary Robinson and Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi will join Rights & Democracy in Cancun, Mexico, for a panel discussion on the ties that bind international trade rules and human rights concerns.

Rights & Democracy is also pleased to confirm the participation of Hartwig de Haen, Assistant Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization's Economic & Social Department as part of its inaugural Cancun event, the roundtable discussion Implementing the Human Right to Food: Domestic Obligations and the International Trade in Agriculture, co-hosted by the FIAN (FoodFirst Information & Action Network) and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Ms. Robinson, Executive Director of the Ethical Globalisation Initiative and the former United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, and Ms. Acosta Urquidi, Mexico's recently dismissed Undersecretary for Human Rights and Democracy join Paul Hunt, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, for the September 12 panel discussion, Towards Development: Human Rights and the WTO agenda, co-sponsored by Switzerland's 3D - Trade, Human Rights and Equitable Economy.

 

    Implementing the Human Right to Food: Domestic Obligations and the International Trade in Agriculture, featuring Hartwig de Haen, takes place Sept. 11 in Room 10 A of the Sierra Hotel in Cancun, Mexico. 9 a.m to 12 p.m.

     

    Towards Development: Human Rights and the WTO Agenda, featuring Mary Robinson and Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi, takes place Sept. 12, 2003 in the Hotel Krystal's Madrid I in Cancun, Mexico. 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

 

Rights & Democracy is a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution created by an Act of Parliament in 1988 to promote, advocate and defend the democratic and human rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights. In cooperation with civil society and governments in Canada and abroad, Rights & Democracy initiates and supports programmes to strengthen laws and democratic institutions, principally in developing countries.

For More Information

Please contact Steve Smith (ext 255) or Louis Moubarak (ext 261) at Rights & Democracy, 514-283-6073.