Ms. Ebadi, who is from Iran, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 "for her efforts for democracy and human rights focusing especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children". As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly for basic human rights, and proclaimed that no society deserves to be labelled "civilized" unless it respects the rights of women and children. She has consistently supported non-violence, favouring enlightenment and dialogue as the best path to changing attitudes and resolving conflict. Shirin Ebadi holds a law degree from the University of Tehran. She served from 1975 to 1979 as president of the city court of Tehran, one of the first female judges in Iran, until she resigned after the revolution. She currently works as a lawyer and teaches at the University of Tehran.

The U Thant Distinguished Lecture series is a forum through which eminent thinkers and world leaders speak on the challenges facing the world's peoples and nations. Previous lecturers have included the Presidents of Finland and South Africa, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, two former Presidents of the United States of America, and three Nobel Laureates. Additional information about the series and its lecturers is available online at http://archive.unu.edu/uthant_lectures/. The 9th U Thant Distinguished Lecture is being jointly organized by United Nations University (UNU) Centre, UNU Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), and the Science Council of Japan, and supported by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

A question and answer period will follow Ms. Ebadi's lecture. Simultaneous Persian-Japanese-English interpretation will be provided. Media representatives are cordially invited to attend; please confirm your attendance in advance.

For those unable to attend, the 9th U Thant Distinguished Lecture will be "webcast" live (and archived) at http://c3.unu.edu/unuvideo/?47.

For more information, or to reserve a media space, please contact UNU-IAS at tel. 045-221-2300, fax 045-221-2302, or Ms Mochizuki, Office of the Communications, at 03-3499-2811.