At SWF:

• Wednesday, October 28th, 7:30 - 10:00PM, Strategic Issues of 1998: Nuclear Proliferation; Stalemate with Iraq; and the Challenge of Kosovo
• Thursday, October 29th, 1:00 - 2:30PM, Prospects for Peace in a Troubled World
• Saturday, October 31st, 7:00 - 9:00PM, Awards: Second Annual State of the World Forum Awards

Biography:

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta has laboured tirelessly for the right to self-determination for the people of East Timor. Having left Dili three days before the Indonesian invasion in 1975, Jose Ramos-Horta represented the interests of East Timorese resistance movements to the United Nations for the ensuing ten years. As Permanent Representative of the FRETILIN, he presented the case against Indonesian human rights abuses in East Timor. Subsequently Ramos-Horta has worked with the United Nations and domestic Timorese groups to develop a peace plan.

The Indonesian government perceives Ramos-Horta's attempts to broker peace and self-determination for the East Timorese as undermining both the peace process and the welfare of the East Timorese. However, for his efforts, the international community has showered him in honours including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.

Ramos-Horta's commitment to the rights of threatened peoples has encouraged him to play an active role in supporting independence movements in Guatemala, Myanmar and Tibet. He set up the Diplomacy Training Programme in order to train indigenous peoples and other minority activists in international human rights law and processes. Ramos-Horta has earned a number of post-graduate degrees in human rights and international relations.

Jose Ramos-Horta is a 1998 recipient of the State of The World Forum Award.

Links:

Nobel Links regarding Jose Ramos-Horta
Jose Ramos-Horta biography
East Timor Links
East Timor