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 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 200 million girls and women in 30 countries live with the medical and emotional complications of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), UNICEF estimates. As part of the United Nations’ global development goals, governments worldwide declared their intent two years ago to end this human rights violation by 2030. On December 2, USIP held a day-long conference in which expert educators, medical providers, law enforcement officials, religious leaders and others laid groundwork for an intensified global strategy that will be required to meet the 2030 goal.
On November 16, USIP gathered eminent scholars to debate the future of U.S. assistance to Pakistan—and of the bilateral relationship overall —under the next U.S. administration.
Despite holding its first peaceful, democratic elections earlier this year, the Central African Republic remains vulnerable to a resurgence of the conflict that began in 2012. On October 14, the U.S. Institute of Peace held a discussion with experts from the field on the crucial next steps needed to achieve disarmament, end the violence and begin reconstruction and reconciliation.
The near-daily litany of violence perpetrated by violent extremist groups like al-Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram illustrates the dearth of understanding about how these militant organizations successfully tap into social discord to advance their campaigns. On Thursday, September 29, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the RESOLVE Network convened researchers from around the world to help set priorities for policy-relevant research to identify effective responses.
People forced from their homes amid conflict—the majority of them women—face threats of deprivation, discrimination and a militarized society. During a forum hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Women’s Regional Network, speakers discussed possible model solutions in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan for displaced women and girls.
Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom spoke at the U.S. Institute of Peace on June 22 providing a progress report and discussion of how the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development are implementing their new strategy for lowering and managing those risks, based on the 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR).
United States forces and their allies abroad have underestimated the irreversible damage done to their missions when they kill or harm civilians, says a new report by combat veteran and strategist Christopher Kolenda and human rights researcher Rachel Reid. On June 8, the report’s authors, with former Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy, held a discussion at USIP of their findings.
Recent years have seen a rise in the passage and enforcement of blasphemy laws in countries including Pakistan, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. On May 26, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and the Senate Human Rights Caucus held a discussion co-sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace and Freedom House.
On May 13, Afghanistan’s First Lady Rula Ghani discussed her country’s history of violent conflict and recent progress and challenges in reforming the justice sector, including for women.