On November 2, panelists at USIP reflect on the past decade of global efforts to address conflict-related sexual violence and the key messages from two days of discussion among global experts at this symposium.

A Retrospective

Panel Discussion

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/missing-peace-global-symposium-conflict-related-sexual-violence

Conflict-related sexual violence displaces people, destroys communities, silences victims and warns of wider atrocities. It undermines reconciliation efforts and the transition to more secure and peaceful societies. Yet, opportunities to integrate prevention and mitigation efforts and jointly leverage resources continue to be missed. How can we effectively move beyond policy siloes that continue to limit action against conflict-related sexual violence?

Keynote Remarks

Panel Discussion

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/missing-peace-global-symposium-conflict-related-sexual-violence

Conflict-related sexual violence aims to dehumanize survivors through calculated acts of cruelty to render survivors and their communities powerless. Survivor-centered approaches to policy, programming and research are expanding, yet there is a need for a clearer understanding of what a survivor-centered approach to addressing conflict-related sexual violence means and how to implement it.

Video Remarks

Panel Discussion

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/missing-peace-global-symposium-conflict-related-sexual-violence

The incidence of conflict-related sexual violence varies between conflicts and even within conflicts, and so do responses to this violence. On November 1, panelists at USIP discussed what can be learned from different conflicts around the world and what are the implications for policy, research and practice.

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/missing-peace-global-symposium-conflict-related-sexual-violence

What kind of policy problem is conflict-related sexual violence? How we answer this question has implications for the solutions proposed. On November 1, panelists shared their perspectives on what different research disciplines can contribute, what policymakers and practitioners need from researchers, and how research, policy and programming can be bridged to better address conflict-related sexual violence.

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/missing-peace-global-symposium-conflict-related-sexual-violence

The past decade has brought impressive growth in research, policy and practice focused on conflict-related sexual violence. Yet implementation of key policies remains inconsistent in many areas. On November 1, experts at USIP shared their perspectives on areas of progress, implementation challenges and persistent knowledge gaps.

Welcome & Keynote Remarks

Panel Discussion

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/missing-peace-global-symposium-conflict-related-sexual-violence

The 25th anniversary of the landmark International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) presents an opportunity to reflect on the United States’ strong bipartisan consensus around the centrality of religious freedom to ensuring peace and stability around the world. On October 31, USIP hosted a discussion on how the IRFA helped create a U.S. mandate for promoting international religious freedom, the successes and lessons of its implementation across multiple administrations, and the mission’s ongoing relevance to global peace and security.

Lise Grande, welcoming remarks 
President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace

Frank Wolf, keynote remarks 
Former U.S. Representative from Virgina

Don Nickles, keynote remarks
Former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma

Katrina Lantos Swett, keynote remarks 
Former Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Rashad Hussain, keynote remarks
U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/international-religious-freedom-act-25

On October 30, USIP, the Atlantic Council, and Razom for Ukraine hosted a conversation with a delegation from the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations. These senior Ukrainian religious leaders — who represent multiple branches of Christianity in Ukraine in addition to the country’s Muslim and Jewish communities — shared personal experiences from the frontlines and discussed the challenges of navigating religion’s complex intersection with the war.

Peter Mandaville, opening remarks
Senior Advisor, Religion and Inclusive Societies, U.S. Institute of Peace

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, moderator
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
 
Yevstratiy (Zoria)
Metropolitan of Bila Tserkva; Spokesman, Kyiv Metropolis; Deputy Head, Department for External Church Relations, Orthodox Church of Ukraine
 
Yaakov Dov Bleich
Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine; Founder and President, Union of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine 
 
Anatoliy Kozachok
Senior Bishop, Ukrainian Pentecostal Church 
 
Vyacheslav Horpynchuk
Bishop, Ukrainian Lutheran Church
 
Anatoliy Raychynets
Deputy Secretary General, Ukrainian Bible Society
 
Ivan Rusyn
Deputy Senior Bishop, Ukrainian Evangelical Church

Akhmed Tamim
Supreme Mufti of Ukraine; Head of the Religious Administration of Ukrainian Muslims

Ambassador John Herbst, closing remarks
Senior Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council; Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine 

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/faith-under-fire-russias-war-ukraine

On October 26, USIP, in collaboration with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and the National Endowment for Democracy, hosted a discussion on refortifying Ukraine's democratic and electoral foundations.

Lise Grande, opening remarks
President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace

Ambassador Oksana Markarova, welcoming remarks
Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States

Ambassador William Taylor, moderator
Vice President, Russia and Europe Center, U.S. Institute of Peace

Olga Aivazovska
Board Chair, OPORA

Peter Erben
Global Principal Advisor and Senior Country Director for Ukraine, International Foundation for Electoral Systems

Damon Wilson, closing remarks 
President and CEO, National Endowment for Democracy

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/expanding-ukraines-democratic-and-electoral-progress-during-war

On October 24, USIP, in cooperation with the SAIS China Research Center, hosted a conversation with Suisheng Zhao on China’s emergence as a global power, the forces that have shaped its international behavior and the implications for the United States.

Suisheng Zhao
Professor and Director, Center for China-U.S. Cooperation, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver 

David Bulman
Jill McGovern and Steven Muller Assistant Professor of China Studies and U.S. Director of the Pacific Community Initiative, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies 

Carla Freeman, moderator  
Senior Expert, China Program, U.S. Institute of Peace

For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/mao-xi-chinese-foreign-policy-under-transformational-leaders