WHAT:
The continuing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan following the Sept.11 terrorist attacks in the United States will be the topic of a presentation by the executive director of Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres USA.

WHO:
Nicolas de Torrente, executive director of Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres USA.

WHEN:
4 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 21.

WHERE:
UCLA’s Dodd Hall Auditorium (room 147).

BACKGROUND:
Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres USA was the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for the organization’s pioneering humanitarian work in several countries, including Afghanistan. De Torrente will discuss the group’s continuing work in Afghanistan and issues including the following: Should humanitarian agencies drop established notions of independence, impartiality and neutrality that guide their action and join the anti-terrorism campaign? Do they have a choice? In October de Torrente delivered a congressional briefing on the crisis in Afghanistan to a joint hearing of the U.S. Congressional Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee and the International Operations and Terrorism Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. There he voiced his concerns about attempts by Western political leaders to subordinate humanitarian action to broader political and military objectives. The Feb. 21 event is co-sponsored by the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research, the UCLA School of Medicine, the UCLA School of Public Health, and the UCLA International Studies and Overseas Programs.

CONTACT:
Stan Paul, director of communications, UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research, (310) 206-8966.