Release date: March 14, 2007
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Renowned Nigerian Activist Mitee to Speak at Emory March 27

Internationally renowned Nigerian attorney, activist and environmentalist Ledum Mitee will speak during Emory University's Human Rights Week on "Oil Exploitation and the Challenges of a Nonviolent Struggle in Nigeria's Niger Delta." The lecture will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 27 in White Hall 208, and is sponsored by the graduate forum of Emory's Institute of African Studies.

Mitee's visit comes at a time when increased conflict has drawn international attention to the Niger Delta, and before Nigerian federal elections in April, which are seen as a major turning point for the country. A former prisoner of conscience, Mitee currently is president of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization and president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People. He has worked tirelessly in the field of human rights and environmental protection, and is known as the co-defendant of prominent Ogoni leader and Goldman Environmental Prize-winner Ken Saro-Wiwa, whose execution in 1995 prompted international outcry.

Mitee, who will be on campus for two days, will participate in a panel discussion on democracy, human rights and oil in the Niger Delta at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 28 in White Hall 208. Other expert panelists include Timothy Holtz (co-founder, Doctors for Global Health, Emory School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health), Stephen Mills (director, International Programs, Sierra Club USA), and three Emory staff members from the Niger Delta region.

"Our goals for this event include creating awareness within and beyond the Emory community of the extreme poverty of the indigenous people of the Niger Delta and the destructive exploitation of their land," says anthropology graduate student and event organizer Kenneth Maes. "We also want to facilitate community dialogues that involve students, Nigerians, academics, civil servants and policy makers so that they may begin to discuss policy change."

For more information, go to www.ias.emory.edu, or contact Kenneth Maes or Portia Allen at 404-861-1776.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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