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________________________________________________________________________ April 28, 2000 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE NOMINATES DENIS HALLIDAY AND KATHY KELLY FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has nominated Denis Halliday and Kathy Kelly for a joint 2000 Nobel Peace Prize. The commitment and courage of these nominees illustrate the far-reaching impact of the actions of individuals in the cause of peace. In the nomination letter to the Nobel Committee Don Reeves, AFSC General Secretary (Interim), stated: "Taken together, the work of Kathleen Kelly and Denis Halliday represents a comprehensive approach to the problem of economic sanctions against Iraq and the devastation wrought on the population of that country, particularly the children." On the cusp of ten years of the most comprehensive sanctions in modern time, the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, sadly neglected for many years has already taken the lives of more than one million Iraqis. During those ten years the AFSC has expressed repeatedly its deep concerns over the increase in infant and child mortality, decline in health and education standards, and overall rise in death rates from preventable and treatable illnesses-all resulting from the effects of the economic sanctions on the people of Iraq. Kathy Kelly is a cofounder of Voices in the Wilderness, the first U.S. grassroots organization to bring activists into Iraq to witness the effect of sanctions, to bring food and medicine to the people of Iraq, and to educate the public upon their return. Denis Halliday, an Irish Quaker, is a former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, who resigned his position in 1998 after some 34 years of UN service to protest the humanitarian impact of the economic sanctions on the civilian population of Iraq. He continues to call for reform within the UN Security Council, and questions the legality of imposing economic sanctions over long periods of time. He has spoken widely since his resignation, and has been a powerful advocate for lifting the economic sanctions against Iraq. The unique combination of grassroots activism in the work of Kathy Kelly, and the authority of the former UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Denis Halliday, has helped to push the crisis in Iraq to the forefront of concerns in the world . We are now engaged in a new dialogue, with growing international support for the concept of de-linking economic and military sanctions. "We nominate them as an expression of the importance of the individuals who transform a personal commitment to peace into visible and effective action," stated Reeves in the nomination letter. The resignations in February 2000 of Hans von Sponeck, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator who replaced Denis Halliday, and Jutta Burghardt, head of the World Food Program in Iraq served to further highlight the humanitarian crisis. AFSC is proud to nominate these two extremely capable and dedicated people, and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to be challenged by their commitments. The American Friends Service Committee and Quaker Peace and Service in England were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 on behalf of the work of Friends (Quakers) worldwide. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk Full details of CASI's various lists can be found on the CASI website: http://welcome.to/casi