A hearing on the status of the volatile African nation of Mali will be held Friday by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees Africa and international human rights.

    The hearing, entitled “The Tuareg Revolt and the Mali Coup,” will feature top U.S. officials from the State Department before an open hearing of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights to discuss the recent military coup and the revolt connected to the demise of the Muammar Qaddafi regime, and its impact on the hopes for democracy and on human rights.

Who:   Chairman Smith, and other members of the human rights subcommittee, and witnesses:

• The Honorable Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of African Affairs
• The Honorable Earl Gast, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development
• Nii Akuetteh, Independent Africa analyst, Former Georgetown University Professor of African Affairs
• Rudolph Atallah, Senior Fellow, Michael S. Ansari Center, Atlantic Council
• Dave Peterson, Senior Director, Africa, National Endowment for Democracy

When:             Friday, June 29 at 10 a.m.

Where:            Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2172