How the ICC’s Warrant for Putin Could Impact the Ukraine War

How the ICC’s Warrant for Putin Could Impact the Ukraine War

Thursday, March 23, 2023

By: Heather Ashby, Ph.D.;  Lauren Baillie;  Mary Glantz, Ph.D.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced last Friday that it had issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. According to a statement issued by the ICC, Putin and Lvova-Belova are alleged to have committed the war crimes of “unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation” beginning in at least February 24, 2022. USIP’s Lauren Baillie, Heather Ashby and Mary Glantz discuss the impacts of these warrants on Putin and on the war in Ukraine.

Type: Analysis

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

Elite Capture and Corruption of Security Sectors

Elite Capture and Corruption of Security Sectors

Friday, February 17, 2023

By: Elite Capture and Corruption of Security Sectors Working Group

The objective of US security sector assistance is to help build effective, accountable, responsive, transparent, and legitimate security sectors in partner nations to address common security risks. Such action ultimately benefits US national interests, as when the United States modernized West Germany’s military during the Cold War; when US security sector support to South Korea helped the United States deter regional threats; and when, in Ukraine, US security sector assistance contributed to success in fending off Russian aggression in 2022. Similarly, the United States helped Georgia turn its traffic police into one of the most trusted institutions in the country, supported Albania as it updated the governance of its security forces, and assisted Colombia in making progress toward ending its long-standing armed conflict. 

Type: Report

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

Rabia y represión en el Perú: restableciendo la confianza ciudadana y el orden público

Rabia y represión en el Perú: restableciendo la confianza ciudadana y el orden público

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

By: Lawrence Gumbiner;  Camilo León;  Alberto Mejía;  Cynthia McClintock;  Mary Speck, Ph.D.

Las distintas administraciones del Perú han experimentado continuos ciclos de crisis en los últimos años. Escándalos de corrupción han agitado el mundo político repetidamente, enfrentando a presidentes contra congresos profundamente divididos. Los últimos cuatro presidentes fueron removidos del poder u obligados a renunciar y los cuatro anteriores completaron sus mandatos solo para enfrentar o investigaciones judiciales después de dejar el cargo.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceJustice, Security & Rule of Law

Rage and Repression in Peru: Restoring Citizen Trust and Public Order

Rage and Repression in Peru: Restoring Citizen Trust and Public Order

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

By: Lawrence Gumbiner;  Camilo León;  Alberto Mejía;  Cynthia McClintock;  Mary Speck, Ph.D.

Peruvian national governments have lurched from crisis to crisis in recent years. Corruption allegations repeatedly ignite political turmoil, pitting narrowly elected presidents against deeply divided legislatures. The last four presidents were all either impeached or forced to resign and the four before that completed their terms only to face criminal charges or investigations after leaving office.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceJustice, Security & Rule of Law

Honduras progresa en controlar la violencia, ¿es posible hacerlo de forma sostenible?

Honduras progresa en controlar la violencia, ¿es posible hacerlo de forma sostenible?

Thursday, January 19, 2023

By: Arturo Matute

“Reducción histórica en la tasa de homicidios”, tuiteó el gobierno hondureño en un hilo celebrando los logros en materia de seguridad durante el primer año en el cargo de la presidenta Xiomara Castro. La tasa oficial del país de 36 asesinatos por cada 100.000 habitantes en 2022 (seis puntos menos que en 2021) mantiene a Honduras entre los países más violentos de América Latina y del mundo. Pero representa un claro avance desde principios de la década de 2010, cuando el empobrecido país centroamericano parecía atrapado en una espiral de violencia vinculada a las pandillas callejeras y al narcotráfico, con tasas que superaban los 85 asesinatos por cada 100.000 habitantes.

Type: Analysis

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

Honduras Makes Progress in Tamping Violence — But at What Cost?

Honduras Makes Progress in Tamping Violence — But at What Cost?

Thursday, January 19, 2023

By: Arturo Matute

“Historic reduction in the homicide rate,” the Honduran government tweeted in a thread celebrating security achievements during President Xiomara Castro’s first year in office. The country’s official rate of 36 murders per 100,000 people in 2022 (down six points from 2021) still places Honduras among Latin America’s — and the world’s — most violent countries. But it represents clear progress since the early 2010s, when the impoverished Central American country seemed caught in a spiral of violence linked to street gangs and drug traffickers, with rates topping 85 murders per 100,000.

Type: Analysis

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

The Role of Women in Myanmar’s Evolving Security Institutions

The Role of Women in Myanmar’s Evolving Security Institutions

Thursday, December 15, 2022

By: Hkawn Htoi;  Gabriela Sagun

Myanmar’s women have assumed an unprecedented leadership role in the pro-democracy resistance since the 2021 coup. From nonviolent protest movements to fighting in People’s Defense Forces (PDF) to the National Unity Government (NUG), women have been instrumental in the fight against the ruling junta’s brutality and oppression. But as Myanmar’s network of resistance groups slowly weakens the junta’s grip, resistance leaders are now faced with a daunting task: How do you re-establish security and stability in a country long plagued by civil conflict?

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGenderJustice, Security & Rule of Law

Event Extra: Syria’s Brutal Civil War and the Elusive Quest for Justice

Event Extra: Syria’s Brutal Civil War and the Elusive Quest for Justice

Monday, November 21, 2022

By: Adam Gallagher

In 2016, the U.N. General Assembly established the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria (IIIM), after vetoes in the U.N. Security Council prevented referral of the Syrian situation to the International Criminal Court. IIIM Head Catherine Marchi-Uhel discusses the obstacles to this work, the progress made to date and what lessons it can provide for delivering accountability and justice in other conflicts.

Type: Podcast

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

Ukraine: The EU’s Unprecedented Provision of Lethal Aid is a Good First Step

Ukraine: The EU’s Unprecedented Provision of Lethal Aid is a Good First Step

Thursday, October 27, 2022

By: Calin Trenkov-Wermuth, Ph.D.;  Jacob Zack

Just three days after Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine, the European Union announced that it would provide weapons to Ukraine through a new financing instrument, the European Peace Facility (EPF), marking the first time in EU history that the bloc provided lethal weaponry. Over the past six months, the EU has provided €2.5 billion to Ukraine through the EPF for arms and equipment, signaling a more muscular EU foreign policy featuring the unprecedented provision of direct military assistance.

Type: Analysis

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

Cerrando el ciclo de violencia de pandillas en El Salvador

Cerrando el ciclo de violencia de pandillas en El Salvador

Thursday, October 13, 2022

By: José Miguel Cruz;  Mary Speck, Ph.D.

El Salvador ha sufrido durante mucho tiempo ciclos de violencia extrema vinculados a poderosas pandillas criminales. Las autoridades nacionales han respondido tanto con una represión implacable como con un apaciguamiento secreto. En público, los gobiernos pueden promulgar políticas de “mano dura” que incluyen arrestos masivos de presuntos pandilleros. Pero en secreto, los líderes salvadoreños han negociado con los líderes de las pandillas en prisión, brindándoles beneficios a cambio de ordenar a sus pandilleros que reduzcan el derramamiento de sangre.

Type: Analysis

Justice, Security & Rule of Law