Turkey RPCV Joe Stork is top American human rights expert
Expert's visit puts spotlight on rights
By ROBERT SMITH
HUMAN rights in Bahrain, Iraq and Palestine will come into focus at a seminar to be addressed by a top American human rights expert and author next week.
Joe Stork, who will begin a week-long visit to Bahrain on Wednesday, has been lined up to speak at Al Oruba Club, in Adliya, on March8 .
He is the Washington Director for the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch - an independent human rights monitoring organisation based in New York and Washington DC.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) has invited him here for a first-hand look at developments which have taken place in the country over the past few years.
Mr Stork last visited the country in 2000 and wrote a book on civil rights in Bahrain in1997 .
During his stay, he is expected to meet with MPs, Shura Council members and representatives from women's groups and other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
He will also be involved as chief guest in a fun run on Friday, which is being organised by the Migrant Workers Group (MWG) of the BCHR.
The fun run, which starts at9 am on open ground opposite the Crowne Plaza, will raise money towards a temporary shelter for abused domestic workers.
"Human Rights Watch is one of the biggest human rights organisations," said BCHR president Nabeel Rajab.
"They monitored Bahrain in the1990 s and we want them to come here following the changes which have taken place in recent years.
"We think they need to see Bahrain after the reforms." Before joining Human Rights Watch, Mr Stork co-founded the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).
From 1971 to1995 , he was the chief editor of its bimonthly magazine Middle East Report.
His articles on Middle East developments have also appeared in journals and books such as The Nation, the Middle East Journal, World Policy Journal, Le Monde Diplomatique, Collier's Encyclopedia and the Oxford Companion to World Politics.
Mr Stork has lectured widely at universities and public forums in the US, Europe and the Middle East and is currently acting executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch.
He has also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey and has a Master's Degree in International Affairs/Middle East Studies from Columbia University.
He presently serves as Chair of the Middle East Studies Association's Committee on Academic Freedom and sits on the advisory committees of the American Friends Service Committee, Foreign Policy in Focus and the Iraq Revenue Watch project of the Open Society Institute.
