Neil Kritz previews the pending agreement to heal a decade of division between Hamas and Fatah, and explains what effects the reconciliation might have on the larger Middle East Peace Process.
On Peace is a weekly podcast sponsored by USIP and Sirius XM POTUS. Each week, USIP experts tackle the latest foreign policy issues from around the world.
July marks the anniversary of the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the Korean War and the 1954 Geneva Conference, convened to resolve the issues that the war could not. In the seven decades since, efforts to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula have been limited and flawed. Today, the security situation in the region is arguably more precarious than ever, with a nuclear armed-North Korea and dysfunctional great power relations. Recent foreign policy shifts in North Korea do not augur well for peace in the near term. Thus, even moving the needle toward peace will likely require Washington to undertake bold initiatives.
Conversations about Myanmar these days tend to unfold predictably. They begin with agreement that the country’s military junta is a vile institution — illegitimate, hated by virtually the entire population, and responsible for widespread suffering and heinous crimes including genocide.
Whether it’s providing clean drinking water to displaced persons, organizing education for at-risk youth or directly engaging in mediation between warring parties, the 2023 Women Building Peace Award finalists have all shown themselves to be impactful advocates of peace and stability in their communities. USIP spoke to award recipient Pétronille Vaweka of the Democratic Republic of Congo and finalists Dr. Marie-Marcelle Deschamps of Haiti, Abir Haj Ibrahim of Syria and Hamisa Zaja of Kenya about their work and how the international community can help to empower and expand the critical efforts of women peacebuilders around the world.
Each year, the U.N. International Day of Living Together in Peace reminds us that true, sustainable peace is achieved not simply by eliminating war, but rather by building tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity among and between communities.