As a national, nonpartisan, independent Institute, the U.S. Institute of Peace draws on our exceptional convening power to create opportunities for diverse audiences to exchange knowledge, experiences, and ideas necessary for creative solutions to difficult challenges. We serve as an important, neutral platform for bringing together government and nongovernment, diplomacy, security, and development actors, and participants across political views. The Institute’s events help shape public policy and priorities to advance peaceful solutions to conflict and strengthen international security.
The Ukrainian government has pledged to undertake a major campaign to root out corruption. But a year after the departure of former President Yanukovych, the pace of reform continues to drag. USIP hosted a panel discussion on Tuesday, March 3, that evaluated the prospects for reducing corruption in Ukraine and how change could be accelerated.
On February 26, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, spoke at an event hosted by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) and the U.S. Institute of Peace in Hart Senate Office Building. The speech was during her first trip to Washington since Liberia’s declaration of a state of emergency over the Ebola outbreak last July.
On February 24 Senator Russell Feingold, the U.S. special envoy working to stabilize Africa’s Great Lakes region, spoke at the U.S. Institute of Peace following his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The devastating attack on the Peshawar Army Public School in December spurred Pakistan’s government, led by the Ministry of the Interior, to draft a 20-point National Action Plan against terrorism. The Honorable Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistan’s minister of the interior, outlined the plan and his country’s terrorism challenge on February 18, his first public appearance in Washington since taking office in June 2013.
The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted Dr. Jelke Boesten on Wednesday, February 18, 2015, for a panel discussion on the implications of wartime sexual violence on the gender and power dynamics in post-conflict settings.
Former President Jimmy Carter calls discrimination and violence against women and girls one of the most serious and pervasive -- yet ignored -- violations of human rights. Escalating violent religious extremism fuels this pattern. On Thursday, Feb. 12, the U.S. Institute of Peace and The Carter Center were pleased to host this event, which addressed ways in which human rights defenders in Libya and Iraq are working to build peace with particular attention to the role of religion and gender.
The recent eruptions of violence in the Middle East, parts of Africa and Eastern Europe illustrate the high hurdles of conflict management amid rapidly shifting power dynamics. On February 11, USIP held a discussion on how to address violent conflict in an era of increasing diffusion of power from central institutions to a range of smaller units.
Pakistan’s expression of alarm at President Obama’s recent visit to India became another example of how relations between the two South Asian nations have turned increasingly sour in the past year. On February 9, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a panel discussion to explore the deteriorating India-Pakistan ties and the ramifications for the region and beyond.
USIP and the Alliance in Support of the Afghan People were pleased to host Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), a U.S. Army veteran who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq and a newly elected member of the U.S. Senate, to provide his views on the shape of future U.S.-Afghan relations.
Peace negotiators seeking to end Colombia’s five-decade-long conflict are beginning to tackle the final issues, including how to reintegrate former insurgents into civilian life. On January 29th, the U.S. Institute of Peace held a discussion of this vexing question with experts including a former negotiator at the peace talks in Havana.