Kroc lecture to focus on human rights

Author: Julie Titone &William Gilroy

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Hannah Wu, a specialist in international human rights standards, will deliver the University of Notre Dames Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies 2005 Distinguished Alumni Lecture at8 p.m.Oct. 20 (Thursday) in the auditorium of theHesburghCenterfor International Studies. TitledA Journey to Human Rights,the lecture is free and open to the public.

Wu, a 1990 graduate of the Kroc Institutes masters degree program, will discuss what it takes to advance human rights at the national and international levels, and varying attitudes toward human rights. She believes that protecting human rights is aboutmeans and willand contends that every country has human rights violations.

Wu also will deliver a public lecture at1 p.m.Oct. 24 (Monday) in Room C-103 of theHesburghCenter.

Wu has worked since 1994 at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights inGeneva,Switzerland. One of her areas of focus is technical cooperation in the field of human rights, through which the United Nations aims to assist countries in overcoming their human rights deficiencies. Most recently, she was a member of a small team that developed the United Nations Plan of Action in response to Secretary General Kofi Annans request to strengthen the human rights work of the organization.

Wu grew up in northernChina, leaving in 1987 for the first time to study in theUnited States. Since graduating from Notre Dame, she has taught high school inWashington,D.C., worked for a womens organization inGeneva, taken part in the U.N. peace keeping mission inCambodia, and worked in the Office of the U.N High Commissioner for Refugees. __

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