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.
On Thursday, May 11, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Senator Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee, shared insights from his trip and discussed the U.S. response to the crisis.
Specialists in peace processes have understood in recent years that a vital element for ending or preventing warfare is inclusion—ensuring that all groups in a society have their voices heard and their critical concerns met. But what are we learning about how to do that, and do it better? On January 31, veterans of peace processes from Nepal to South Sudan to El Salvador to Turkey discussed the lessons offered by their recent experiences.
Ambassador Donald Booth is completing almost two and half years as the U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. He discussed the lessons learned from recent international initiatives to end violent conflict in both countries, and the road ahead for that effort and for the U.S. role.
On December 8 the U.S. Institute of Peace and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum held a discussion with experts about the risks for mass violence and options for upholding the shared U.S. and global responsibility to prevent genocide.
More than 100,000 peacekeepers deployed in Africa make up three-quarters of such United Nations troops worldwide, and they illustrate the frequent response of the African Union to defuse violent conflict with military forces. But the AU has another strength: political power. On September 12, researchers Alex de Waal and Mulugeta Gebrehiwot of the World Peace Foundation offered recommendations from their new report on how the AU can harness its unique advantage to advance peace and security.
On January 28, a panel of regional experts, including Alex de Waal, author of The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa: Money, War and the Business of Power, discussed the complex interplay between politics and money in the region and the implications for the international community.
Three months after warring factions in South Sudan signed onto a peace plan, the fighting continues and the formation of a transitional government is behind schedule. USIP experts joined officials from the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy on Sudan and South Sudan on December 15, 2015 to chat online about how the delayed peace process can be advanced.
The U.S. Institute of Peace, the African Union and the African Ambassadors Group co-hosted an event marking Africa Day on May 26 at the U.S. Institute of Peace. This event highlighted women’s roles in peacebuilding and development, and marked the progress made and the major risks and threats remaining to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who also has been a pivotal figure in the African Union, gave remarks at the U.S. Institute of Peace on April 22, exploring Africa’s leadership challenges in terms of “What’s Right With Africa.”
One year after South Sudan erupted into violence there are still no solutions for what might be done to end the conflict. Experts convened on Facebook on December 15, 2014 for a discussion on the peace process, transitional justice and more.