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.
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.
A staggering 230 million children live in lands that have become battlefields, and extremist groups exploit their traumas to recruit youth to violence. Yet from these same embattled lands, young leaders emerge, working to heal divisions in their communities and build peace. They often face large social or political forces of violent conflict, and even threats of suppression or violence by combatants. As they do, how can others help them sustain the personal resilience on which their work depends? On May 4, USIP hosted a global discussion online.
On April 4, the somber anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, USIP held a forum on ways to reclaim and re-frame nonviolent action against 21st-century global conflicts, extremisms, and injustices that fuel them. Researchers and activists discussed their recent or forthcoming books on nonviolent action and joined an audience-wide conversation and poll.
Wars and oppression—from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan and parts of Africa—last year pushed more than a million people to seek safety and opportunity in Europe. This tide of migrating humanity has heightened Europe’s tensions around its growing Muslim community. Conflict is growing around terrorism, the status of sharia law, the construction of mosques, and the possibility and desirability of multicultural societies. On March 23, American University anthropologist Akbar Ahmed screened his 201...
A critical figure in Tunisia’s evolution—Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the Islamist movement Nahda—visited USIP, together with the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, on October 28 to discuss how his country can consolidate its progress.
On October 13, 2015, USIP screened the recent PBS documentary “Gender Equality in Islam,” and hosted a discussion on how women can understand and advance the gender-equitable principles of the faith.
As Yemen’s multi-sided conflict grabs headlines with its devastating human toll, local activists continue to press for peace and democracy. Tawakkol Karman, a winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize who is known as “The Mother of the Revolution” in Yemen for her impact as a journalist and women’s rights advocate, offered insights, reflections, and hope from her on-the-ground experience.
In early July, a group of 26 religious leaders of different faiths called on the negotiators to accelerate peace talks and offered to help lead the country toward reconciliation. On July 15, the U.S. Institute of Peace held a discussion with a group pursuing such work, the Ecumenical Group of Women Peacekeepers (GemPaz).
The speaker of Iraq’s parliament, His Excellency Dr. Saleem al-Jubouri, discussed his country’s current challenges in a public forum on June 8, 2015 at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
State Department Counselor on Counterterrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism, Eric Rosand, joined the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum on Tuesday, April 14, at the U.S. Institute of Peace for a discussion of the results of these efforts, and how to build on effective approaches.