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.
Nearly every modern U.S. administration has named special envoys or special representatives to address high-stakes conflicts by applying the kind of concentrated attention that exceeds the day-to-day capacity of the State Department and other regular bureaucratic structures. But how well does this approach really work? And what should be done to bolster the effectiveness of these envoys?
USIP and U.S. Special Envoy Russ Feingold discussed the prospects for peace in the Great Lakes region of Africa on February 20th.
Ambassador Roger Meece shared his perspectives on the Democratic Republic of Congo's recent history, current developments and what may lie ahead. Read the coverage, More International Engagement on DRC Needed, Former U.N. Special Rep Says at USIP
On September 10, 2013, U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), and the U.S. Water Partnership (USWP) hosted a summit on the growing concerns in water security and the risks for increased conflict.
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) emerged as a political response to an urgent need, while the international community struggled to formulate an adequate response to the conscience-shocking atrocities of the 20th century committed in Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan.
On February 22, the U.S. Institute of Peace convened an event on recent changes in the war in eastern Congo and their implications for peace. Panelists shared insights from recent trips to the region, examined opportunities and risks for advancing a meaningful peace process, and highlighted lessons from other relevant peace processes potentially applicable to the Great Lakes.
On March 28 USIP hosted a presentation by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman who recently concluded visits to five key African states. Wendy Sherman shared her observations about the importance of a holistic approach to sustained political and social development, as well as economic growth.
This event has ended; audio and photos are available. The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted the launch of the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade, a joint initiative by the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), on November 15, 2011, in collaboration with USIP’s Center for Sustainable Economies this initiative is part of a coordinated the effort to reduce trade in conflict minerals in the Eastern Congo and the Great Lakes region...
This November, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will hold the first round of presidential elections amidst decreasing levels of human security and stability. USIP and the Great Lakes Policy Forum hosted a discussion on how the United States and the international community can defuse a potential political crisis in the DRC. Over the past two years, USIP has actively undertaken projects on improving governance in the DRC through its diaspora dialogue series and a focus on peace, developm...
In October 2000, the United Nations Security Council passed landmark Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, which linked women’s experiences of conflict to the international peace and security agenda, acknowledging their peacemaking roles as well as the disproportionate impact of violent conflict on women. Ten years later, the U.S. Institute of Peace co-hosted a three-day Women and War conference focused on the varied experiences of women during wartime and how to make sustained progr...