'I shall remain an attorney committed to human rights'.

• Author: Afrasiabi, Kaveh L.
• Position: RightsWatch - Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Ebadi is the recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, for her efforts for democracy and human rights, focussing especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children. She is the founder and leader of the Association for Support of Children's Rights in Iran. A lawyer and human rights activist, Ms. Ebadi, one of the first female judges in the country, served as President of the city court of Tehran. She has also written a number of academic books and articles on human rights. Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, founder of the non-governmental organization Global Interfaith Peace, (pictured here with Ms. Ebadi) interviewed her for the UN Chronicle on 8 November 2003.

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I would like to first of all congratulate you for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Has the Prize given you a new mission with respect to human rights and world peace?

The honour of this award has reassured me that my path in the past has been a correct one and that I should continue this path, albeit with more energy and persistence, in order to prove that I am worthy of this honour.

What do you see as the biggest obstacles to world peace, particularly in the Middle East?

The lack of respect for the guidelines of the United Nations represents a serious challenge to world peace. The United Nations crystallizes the global conscience, and its principles and recommendations should be heeded. When a decision is made without due consideration of the UN Charter, then that global conscience suffers. For example, the invasion of Iraq occurred without United Nations blessing, and this represents a dangerous development with respect to the future of world peace, and I hope it will not be repeated.

According to some people, particularly since the tragedies of 11 September, Western and Islamic civilizations are clashing with each other. What are your views on this matter?

Unfortunately, the idea of clashing civilizations, which had previously been theorized in different forms, itself constitutes a rationalization for warfare. For centuries, people of different faiths--Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Middle East, for instance--lived peaceably alongside each other. There is no reason to accentuate the differences among civilizations when we should be focusing on their commonalities in today's interdependent world. If certain people exploit their religion and commit murder in the name of Islam, we should not put that on account of Islam, just as we did not attribute to...