Social activist Kathy Kelly will be speaking in public protest of the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq by the United Nations Security Council at 3 p.m. Sunday in the HUB Auditorium. The sanctions, implemented in January 1991, are a result of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspections.

Kelly, a two-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, founded Voices in the Wilderness, an organization dedicated to lifting the sanctions, to peacefully combat this directive. The group's actions so far have included 39 visits to Iraq to deliver medicine and toys, in addition to a 40-day fast that began in September. She and others in Voices have been threatened with exorbitant fines by the United Nations and were warned of a possible prison sentence, according to the Pax Christi Web site.

Persaram Batra, secretary and treasurer of the Penn State chapter of Pax Christi, said, "(The sanctions) have caused an inordinate amount of suffering to innocent civilians who shouldn't be held accountable for the policies of their government." Repealing the sanctions is one of the organization's primary initiatives, Batra added.

Sunday's speech marks a part of Kelly's massive oratory crusade this month, which stretches all across the East Coast and into Canada.