Human Rights in the Arab Region in 2008

The transition period in Washington offers a useful moment for policymakers to take stock of a number of serious issues.  In the Middle East, one area that demands attention and re-evaluation is the manner in which the U.S. approaches the question of human rights and democracy.
 
As a central element of that stocktaking, the Project on Middle East Democracy, Open Society Institute and the Democracy Coalition Project are pleased to invite you to a discussion of the annual report issued by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, “Human Rights in the Arab Region in 2008: From Exporting Terrorism to Exporting Repression.”
 
In addition to monitoring violations against political and human rights activists, CIHRS” annual report focuses on five key indicators throughout the region:
 
o        Legislative developments relating to political participation, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of religion and belief, and peaceful assembly and association;
 
o        Governmental approach towards civil society associations;
 
o        Impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of human rights violations and crimes;
 
o        Denial of the rights of minorities; and
 
o        Exporting repressive mechanisms to the international arena and multilateral fora.

Bahey El-Din Hassan, Director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies in Cairo, Egypt.
 
Saif Nasrawi, Correspondent with United Press International and contributor to the CIHRS report.
 
Dr. Morton Halperin (discussant), President of the Democracy Coalition Project.