The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide.

The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peacebuilding efforts around the globe.
 Learn more in this video.

Passing the Baton 2009

Passing the Baton is a one-day conference examining critical foreign policy challenges and opportunities facing the new administration as it transitions to power. The event will convene leading experts and a high-level, bipartisan group of current and former U.S. foreign policy officials and practitioners. The conference takes place this Thursday January 8 at the Washington DC Convention Center. Online registration is required and still open but space is limited. |  Learn more and Register now

Telling the Story: Documentation Lessons for Afghanistan from the Cambodian Experience

USIP recently co-sponsored a conference in Cambodia to highlight lessons learned about war crimes documentation for Afghan human rights practitioners. Scott Worden, who organized the event, reports that a broad range of documentation techniques from computer databases to memorials are available to tell victims' stories in a way that promotes healing and a greater understanding of the past. |  Read more

Disaster in the DRC: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in North Kivu

Resurgent violence has left hundreds dead, thousands displaced and millions destitute in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this new report, Go Funai and Catherine Morris highlight the meaning of "human security" in a chronic conflict zone, informal lending mechanisms among local ethnically homogenous communities and the role of neighboring African states in contributing to conflict and stability in the DRC. |  Read more

Toward the End of Poverty in Haiti

Jennings Randolph fellow and Haiti expert Robert Maguire explores solutions to ending chronic poverty in Haiti, including enhanced government coordination in a "republic of NGOs" and the importance of a new donors' meeting. |  Read more