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.
Ahead of International Women’s Day and on the first day of Women’s History Month, USIP recognized and celebrated the awardee and finalists for the 2023 Women Building Peace Award. The conversation explored how these four fearless women from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya and Syria are making history while working for a peaceful future.
On July 20, USIP hosted a discussion with President Tshisekedi and Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights that focused on a range of important issues confronting Africa, including strengthening democracy, human rights, economic growth, COVID vaccine availability and responding to peace and security challenges.
Senator Merkley, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy, and Environmental Policy, spoke on Wednesday, July 11 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. about Congress’ priorities on humanitarian- and conflict-related issues in Africa.
After two five-year terms and multiple delayed elections during the controversial presidency of Joseph Kabila, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has scheduled presidential elections for December 2018. Although hopes are high, and several Congolese contenders have publicly announced their intentions for candidacy, popular frustrations and distrust of President Kabila, whose term expired in December 2016, continue to fuel fears of rigged elections.
On March 23, the U.S. Institute of Peace held a half-day event to discuss past and upcoming elections that illustrate the risk of violence, with the aim of identifying promising ways to realize peace at the polls. Panelists included ambassadors to the U.S., leading election scholars, and the contributing authors of Electing Peace, a new USIP book that examines the effectiveness of common practices to prevent election violence.
The U.S. Institute of Peace held an online conversation via Twitter to discuss past and upcoming elections at risk of violence. Participants included the contributing authors of Electing Peace, a recent research volume that examines the effectiveness of common practices to prevent election violence.
Thomas Perriello, at the completion of nearly 18 months as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Africa Great Lakes region after previously leading the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), discussed lessons for U.S. foreign policy drawn from his tenure on December 15, 2016.
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.
More than 1 billion people live in countries affected by armed conflict or by the fragility of their societies. Fragile states are often vulnerable to conflict because their populations tend to see their governments as ineffective, illegitimate, or both. As a group, they are the ones that lag furthest behind in achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. On Friday, March 27 USIP hosted a discussion regarding a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “States of Fragility 2015: Meeting Post-2015 Ambitions.”
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).