Multimedia

Citizens of fragile and conflict-affected states confront threats to their security and livelihoods on a daily basis. Nearly 1.6 billion people are forced to live in the midst of violence perpetuated by a diverse array of actors - from political extremists to transnational criminal syndicates. Too often these most vulnerable and marginalized are left without a voice in their personal and political future and are denied adequate forums for addressing their grievances. On January 12, 2012 USIP brought together rule of law practitioners from the field and policymakers from Washington, DC to discuss these critical issues.

There has been a surge of enthusiasm and activity around crisis mapping recently, thanks to high profile success stories such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, and Kenya. But, as the field matures, how do we turn this information into insight that engages and empowers  local communities in conflict prevention and peacebuilding?  On June 17, 2011, USIP and Ushahidi, the crisis mapping pioneer, explored these questions with mappers from conflict zone countries and policymakers in Washington, D.C.

Almost ten years after the devastating attacks of 9/11, the United States engaged in two wars that sent tens of thousands of American troops to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. A new survey conducted recently by the American Red Cross about the attitudes of the first post-9/11 generation of American youth reveal for the first time their opinions about the rules of war and what is or is not acceptable behavior during wartime.

On June 3, 2011, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the American Red Cross collaborated to host a timely discussion on the relevance and importance of international humanitarian law at a time when civil conflicts are also erupting in North Africa and the Middle East.

As part of the Institute’s contribution to promoting Iraqi dialogue on this important matter, USIP’s Sean Kane discusses his new report entitled “Iraq’s Disputed Territories: A View of the Political Horizon and Implications for U.S. Policy,” which concretely imagines what an Iraqi-negotiated solution to the disputed territories might look like.

In addition, Harvard University’s Emma Sky outlines potential on-the-ground conflict prevention and management mechanisms that could help create the space for Iraqi leaders to continue their search for agreement on these difficult and sensitive issues. These are further described in her recently published Peace Brief, "Preventing Arab-Kurd Conflict in Iraq after the Withdrawal of U.S. Forces."

Iraqi representatives and USIP experts assess the success of efforts to establish a genuine national partnership and discuss priorities for Iraq’s new government in 2011. This event took place on January 5, 2011.

Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri discusses his fatwa against Al-Qaida, Taliban, and other radical organizations and how he and his organizations have been working toward reducing the spread of extremism. He has explicitly declared terrorism as an act of disbelief (kufr) in Islam, and his peacebuilding activities are bringing youth away from radical ideology. This event took place on November 10, 2010.

This is event discusses the linkages between corruption and conflict affected states, the panel will present strategies to address corruption that are conflict-sensitive and peace-building. This event took place on November 8, 2010.

In a unique opportunity exploring how music and the media serve as platforms to speak out against injustice and for peace, Arab hip hop artists the Narcicyst and Omar Offendum and Iranian hip hop artist Mana performed their latest works and participated in a discussion at USIP with Manal Omar, director of Iraq Programs and Theo Dolan, senior program officer at the Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding.

How do we know we are on track when it comes to post-conflict stabilization and reconstruction? How do we know that our military, diplomatic and development efforts are working? These experts believe that one key indicator when gauging success is women’s participation and access to the political, economic and social arenas.

U.S. attempts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been unsuccessful in training local police to deal with insurgency, terrorism and criminal violence. How are effective, accountable, and legitimate police forces crafted in conflict states?

Please note: This event was webcast live at www.usip.org/webcast.html. The video file is available at http://www.usip.org/newsroom/multimedia/video-gallery/police-in-counterinsurgency.