A peace activist grandmother and an entomology professor will discuss human rights violations in Iraq.

The Ames Chapter of the United Nations Association will have its annual Celebration of the United Nations’ Delegation on Human Rights at the Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas, from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The principal speakers will be Marian Solomon, who will discuss the harms caused by U.S. sanctions on Iraq, and Royce Bitzer, research associate in entomology, who will discuss Saddam Hussein’s role in the Iraqi people’s human-rights violations.

Solomon, a 72-year-old from Ames, recently returned from a peace trip to Iraq, armed with nothing but a backpack and a Bible.

She and about a dozen peace activists from across North America embarked toward the Mideast two months ago. The trip included a flight to Jordan, followed by a 16-hour bus ride into Baghdad.

Solomon said the trip was one of peace. She and the other pacifists say they were out to see the sickness and death caused by the Persian Gulf War bombings a decade ago and economic sanctions since.

The conditions in Iraq are subhuman, Solomon said.

“Our uranium-laced missiles and bombs have caused a 400 percent increase in cancer. In addition, roughly one million Iraqis have died from radiation. If I were an Iraqi, I would feel the terrorist wasn’t Saddam, but George Bush.”

In addition, one-third of U.S. soldiers are suffering from Gulf War Syndrome, she said, “and they were only [in Iraq] for a short time. Imagine how bad it is for those who live there.”

Solomon sees ending the United States’ 11-year embargo on Iraq as the solution to the Arab country’s problems.

“Nobody there wants the U.S. to replace their regime with a democracy — they want their own government to rebuild and replace itself,” she said.

Bitzer has different beliefs. He said Iraq’s worst enemy isn’t the United States, but itself.

“Saddam has been blocking humanitarian efforts, which has caused starvation, not the embargo.”

Many groups are expected to attend the discussion, including Time for Peace, an ISU student organization advocating peace, which frequently holds demonstrations at the corner of Lincoln Way and Welch Avenue.

Separate from the United Nations Association event, Time for Peace will host a demonstration at that location from 5:30 to 6:30 on Sunday, said Matt Denner, junior in political science and group member. “This will be important because we want to leave a lasting impression on students that will carry over into next semester. We hope to reach as many people as possible,” he said.