Rule of Law

Ambassador Donald Booth is completing almost two and half years as the U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. He will discuss the lessons learned from recent international initiatives to end violent conflict in both countries, and the road ahead for that effort and for the U.S. role.

People forced from their homes amid conflict—the majority of them women—face threats of deprivation, discrimination and a militarized society. During a forum hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace and  the Women’s Regional Network, speakers discussed possible model solutions in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan for displaced women and girls.

Extremist groups like ISIS have seized control in swaths of Iraq and Syria in part because they tout themselves as an alternative to corrupt and inept government at all levels. USIP hosted a discussion on January 6, 2016 highlighting new research by the global humanitarian and development organization Mercy Corps on the connection between citizens’ perceptions of governance and public support for armed opposition.

Read the event coverage, Iraq Research: Sense of Injustice Is Key to Violent Extremism. 

On December 10th, 2015 the U.S. Institute of Peace, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State held a discussion with Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield and other experts on how to make progress against the scourge, part of a week of activities to mark the United Nations-designated International Anticorruption Day

Read the event coverage, Corruption Poses Unparalleled Threat, U.S. Official Says.

ISIS extremists in Iraq and Syria declare that Islamic scripture justifies their taking of refugee women as sex slaves. Men in some Muslim societies cite their religion in defending “honor killings” of women. In the West, many commentators proclaim Islam inherently sexist, and some governments ban the veils traditionally worn by many Muslim women. Amid the turmoil, a growing cohort of female Islamic scholars says Muslim women are marginalized not by the Quran but by patriarchal cultural practices and interpretations of their faith. On October 13, 2015, USIP will screen the recent PBS documentary “Gender Equality in Islam,” and host a discussion on how women can understand and advance the gender-equitable principles of the faith.

Read the event coverage, Islam, Culture and Sexism: Making Change with Religious Learning.

As world headlines focus elsewhere, international security remains at risk in Georgia: Russian troops, in July, continued a creeping seizure of new Georgian territory, including part of a strategic pipeline. ISIS was recruiting fighters throughout the Caucasus for its war in Syria. Georgian Defense Minister Tinatin Khidasheli, in Washington to meet with top U.S. officials, made her remarks at USIP August 19. She discussed how her country is navigating regional security threats that have deepened in the 18 months since Russia attacked Ukraine.

Read the event coverage, Georgia, Facing Russian Pressure, Needs NATO Path, Defense Chief Says.

As lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities campaign for constitutional rights across the world, USIP gathered the United States’ new special envoy on the issue, along with international LGBTI activists, to discuss the movement and its future. Ambassador Randy Berry joined campaigners from South Africa, Ireland, Fiji, and Grenada in the May 26th forum, which was co-hosted by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

Read the event coverage, After Ireland Vote: Various Roads to LGBTI Rights.

From Iraq to Burma, from Peru to Yemen, from Nicaragua to Nepal, the personal stories of widows, children, workers, and soldiers often are lost in the cacophony of war.  The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a discussion and launch of "Speaking Their Peace: Personal Stories from the Frontlines of War and Peace," a book that tells the extraordinary stories of "ordinary" people from eleven conflict zones. This event included a moderated discussion with the book's author, Colette Rausch, and two members of the team that captured these memorable interviews, followed by a reception and book-signing session.

The U.S. Institute of Peace and the University of South Carolina Rule of Law Collaborative hosted a public event examining the obstacles and strategies for the empowerment of women in countries with "mixed" legal systems on May 1, 2015.

December 16, 2014, may well have been Pakistan’s September 11. Join the U.S. Institute of Peace for a panel discussion assessing Pakistan’s domestic security situation in the wake of the attack on the Army Public School and Degree College in Peshawar.