PrintScott Worden
Senior Rule of Law Adviser, Rule of Law Center of Innovation
Scott Worden joined USIP as an adviser in the Rule of Law Center of Innovation in 2007. Previously, he served as an adviser to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on human rights and elections issues, as well as to the Afghanistan Joint Election Management Body on the conduct of the 2005 Parliamentary elections.
Before serving in Afghanistan, Worden worked with several Cambodian NGOs on legal reform projects, including advocating procedures for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. He also advised the Cambodian government on drafting its anti-corruption law.
An attorney, Worden practiced law for three years with Coudert Brothers in New York, focusing on international litigation. He has received fellowships from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Luce Scholars Program to work in Cambodia.
Worden has published several pieces on the transitional justice process in Cambodia and Afghanistan. He has a B.A. from Colgate University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Publications:
- The Justice Dilemma in Uganda
USIPeace Briefing, February 2008 - Transitional Justice in Nepal: A Look at the International Experience of Truth Commissions
USIPeace Briefing, September 2007 - "Path to Peace, Justice in Afghanistan." Scott Worden and J Alexander Thier (Christian Science Monitor, March 17, 2007).
- "An Anatomy of the Extraordinary Chambers." Awaiting Justice: Essays on Khmer Rouge Accountability, Jason Abrams, Jaya Ramji & Beth Van Schaack (eds.) (Mellon Press, 2005).
- "Cambodian Extraordinary Chambers," Scott Worden and Mohamed Othman. Defense in International Criminal Proceedings by Michael Bohlander, Roman Boed, & Richard J. Wilson (eds.) (Transnational, 2005).
Available on usip.org
- On the Issues: Cambodia
December 7, 2007
Resources & Tools
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The presidential and provincial council elections held in Afghanistan in August 2009 were marred by irregularities and fraud, leading voters and candidates to question the fairness and utility of the democratic process there. The Afghan government announced in late January that it will delay Parliamentary elections until September 2010--several months beyond the deadline set by Afghanistan’s constitution. Countries: Afghanistan
| Issue Areas: Governance, Political Systems and International Relations, Rule of Law
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USIP has supported over 300 products, projects, and activities related to human rights and peacebuilding. From grants to fellowships, from training to education, from working groups to publications, the Institute strives to encourage more practice and scholarly work on the issue of human rights, and seeks to deepen understanding of the role human rights play in conflict and in peace. Issue Areas: Human Rights, Peacebuilding
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Rule of Law Specialist Scott Worden testified on Capitol Hill on March 26, 2009 on the issue of "Human Rights in Afghanistan." A former adviser to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on human rights and elections issues, Worden helped the U.S. Helsinki Commission examine the current state of human rights in Afghanistan. |
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US policy toward Afghanistan will require a fundamental change in order to achieve long-term stability in the country, according to The Future of Afghanistan, a new U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) collection of essays written by some of the world's top South Asia analysts. "A focused, coherent, and long-term approach to Afghan and regional stability is necessary to get Afghanistan out of its vicious cycle of insecurity, insurgency, impunity, and corruption" says the Institute's J. Alexander Thier, who edited the volume.
Countries: Afghanistan
| Issue Areas: Civil Society, Civil-Military Relations, Governance, Human Rights, Rule of Law
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USIP recently co-sponsored a conference in Cambodia to highlight lessons learned about war crimes documentation for Afghan human rights practitioners. USIP's 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. |
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Uganda has just agreed to a peace agreement between the government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army after more than two decades of brutal conflict. Yet complex issues of transitional justice remain and must be resolved to facilitate national reconciliation. |
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Scott Worden, a specialist on both transitional justice and Cambodia, discusses the legacy of the Khmer Rouge and Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Countries: Cambodia
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Amid the run-up to the Constituent Assembly elections scheduled for November, Nepal's government has prepared a Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is the most prominent of several commitments made during the peace process to promote transitional justice following Nepal's more than 10-year civil war. |
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Against a backdrop of halting progress by many international courts, the Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL) has quietly had significant success in accomplishing its mission to provide justice for the perpetrators most responsible for the horrific crimes committed against the people of Sierra Leone. |
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Nearly six years after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, efforts to develop civil society are showing tentative signs of progress. The effectiveness of civil society in influencing development in the provinces remains low, and rising insecurity in many regions threatens the future prospects of the nascent Afghan civil society. Countries: Afghanistan
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Events
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January 8, 2010
In the wake of significant fraud in Afghanistan’s 2009 presidential and provincial council elections, the Afghan government has announced that it will proceed to hold parliamentary elections on schedule in May 2010. Yet few if any reforms have been made, and there is little to indicate that the conduct of the parliamentary elections will be any better than last year's vote. |
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October 24, 2008
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May 20, 2008
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November 6, 2007
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