December 27, 2000

Dear Colleague,
I am writing to invite you to a League breakfast meeting on "AFGHANISTAN, SANCTIONS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS"

Tuesday, January 9, 2001
9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Law Office of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler
1133 Avenue of Americas (43rd St. & 6th Avenue)
24th Floor Conference Room 24A

Our speakers will include Barnett R. Rubin, Director of Studies at the Center on International Cooperation of New York University, and the author of several books and articles on Afghanistan, and Joanna Weschler, UN representative for Human Rights Watch.

Recently, in an interview with Barbara Crossette in The New York Times, Mr. Rubin noted that while there was legitimate concern about terrorists attacks, we must ask "what is the strategic goal of international action in Afghanistan, bearing in mind that this is a country that has had 21 years of war...the highest rates of infant, child and maternal mortality, the lowest life expectancy, the lowest literacy rate and the highest rate of hunger -- tied with Somalia -- in the world. Even sanctions that are carefully targeted -- and these are intended to be -- have some negative impact on civilian populations... and the civilian population in Afghanistan does not have a margin for survival.''

In a letter to the members of the UN's Security Council, Human Rights Watch called for the imposition of "an arms embargo on all warring factions until significant progress is made to end violations of human rights and humanitarian law and to bring the perpetrators to justice, not just the one-sided embargo unconnected to the human rights of the Afghan people... We also urge the Security Council to take additional measures to protect delivery of humanitarian aid..."

We hope to have a specific discussion on the current humanitarian impact of sanctions in Afghanistan, as this issue will be reviewed by the UN community in the coming month, as well as a more general debate on how the international community can credibly and effectively respond to tyrants and terrorists responsible for blanket suppression of human rights.

Please RSVP to Collette Barcia at (212)-661-0480, ext. 104 by January 5.

Sincerely,

Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Executive Director

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