Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

Coronavirus and Conflict: The Security Sector Response

Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2020 / Time: 10:00am - 11:15am EST

Center: Applied Conflict Transformation Center

Share This
Print the Page

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, troubling developments about how security forces are responding have been reported from places already mired in violence and conflict. In the Middle East and Latin America, police are using mandates to keep people at home to crack down on human rights. And in Africa, peace processes are at risk of breaking down as peacekeepers become restricted in their movements. Meanwhile, local activists and peacebuilders everywhere cannot easily come together to organize and push back on abuses. Urgently addressing the interaction between virus and conflict is crucial if we want to help communities emerge from COVID-19 with resilience and hope. 

On April 15, USIP hosted an event that looked at creative solutions on how to respond to the confluence of coronavirus and conflict. USIP President and CEO Nancy Lindborg shared lessons from her experience responding to Ebola in West Africa and discussed why COVID-19 is a unique challenge to conflict-affected regions. This was followed by a panel discussion with experts from around the world on how security sectors are responding to coronavirus, how local communities are making their voices heard, and what practical interventions we can take now to stem unnecessary suffering later. 

Speakers

Nancy Lindborg, introductory remarks
President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace 

Frances Z. Brown
Fellow for Democracy, Conflict, and Governance, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Isioma Kemakolam
Justice and Security Dialogue Program Coordinator, Nigeria, U.S. Institute of Peace

Jeremy Konyndyk
Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development 

Amany Qaddour
Regional Director, Syria Relief & Development

Dr. Albrecht Schnabel
Head of the Asia-Pacific Unit, DCAF – Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance

Sarah Holewinski, moderator
Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace

Related Publications

The Middle East on Fire

The Middle East on Fire

Thursday, October 3, 2024

By: Mona Yacoubian

Iran’s ballistic missile strikes on Israel on October 1 have raised fears of an all-out war in the Middle East. The deepening spiral of bloodshed began on September 17 and 18 with the detonation across Lebanon of thousands of pagers and two-way radios used by Hezbollah operatives — one analyst deemed the unprecedented Israeli operation “the most extensive physical supply chain attack in history.” Ongoing airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon have marked the most significant Israeli barrage in 11 months of tit-for-tat escalation. On September 27, Israel dealt Hezbollah a devastating blow by killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on a Beirut suburb. Despite reeling from these latest reverses and the evisceration of its command structure, the Shiite militia continues to lob missiles at Israel. Stunned and outraged, Iran — Hezbollah’s patron — fired around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel; at least one person was killed in the West Bank. Iranians are now bracing for Israeli retaliation. The cycle of violence, it appears, is far from over.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

The Myanmar Military’s Institutional Resilience

The Myanmar Military’s Institutional Resilience

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

By: Ye Myo Hein;  Billy Ford

The Myanmar military has endured historic losses over the past three years, leaving it in the weakest state in its history. While there are few paths to recovery — and mounting challenges to its stranglehold on power — the military has managed to stay afloat so far in the face of an expanding revolution against its rule. What are the factors threatening its viability? And what is holding it together? While there is no single explanation, a critical factor is its culture of internal loyalty cultivated over decades of military rule.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Hassan Nasrallah is dead. What happens next in the Middle East?

Hassan Nasrallah is dead. What happens next in the Middle East?

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

By: Osama Gharizi;  Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen;  Garrett Nada;  Mona Yacoubian

Two weeks ago, Israel announced that halting Hezbollah attacks had become an official goal of its post-October 7 war effort. Since then, Israel conducted a sophisticated clandestine attack on Hezbollah’s communications infrastructure and struck numerous Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the suburbs of Beirut, killing many of Hezbollah’s senior leaders. Then, on Friday, an Israeli airstrike assassinated Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who led the group for over 30 years.

Type: Question and Answer

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Out of the Spotlight, Myanmar’s Rohingya Face Worst Violence in 7 Years

Out of the Spotlight, Myanmar’s Rohingya Face Worst Violence in 7 Years

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

By: Laetitia van den Assum

Since early 2024, fighting in northern Rakhine state has led to the worst attacks on the Rohingya population since 2017, when Myanmar’s military drove more than 750,000 across the border into Bangladesh. The new attacks are a stark reminder of the Rohingyas’ vulnerability. The world has known about their plight for decades, and in 2024, only 636,000 Rohingya — or 23 percent of the 2.8 million Rohingya around the world — still live in their homeland, Myanmar.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention;  Global Policy;  Human Rights

View All Publications