Turkey: An Evolving Role in Syria, Europe and the Middle East

The Center for International Conflict Resolution invites you to:

Turkey: An Evolving Role in Syria, Europe and the Middle East

with

Sabine Freizer

Director of the Europe Program, International Crisis Group  

Introduction by Jean-Marie Guéhenno

Director, Center for International Conflict Resolution

Tuesday, April 23^rd

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

International Affairs Building

Columbia University

4^th Floor, Room 405

Due to limited seating, registration for this event on Sundial is required

International Crisis Group Europe Program Director Sabine Freizer discusses Turkey, its evolving role, and the impact of the Syrian conflict in the region. Introduction by Jean-Marie Guehenno, Director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution at SIPA.

Sabine Freizer is the Istanbul-based Director of the Europe Program. In this role, Sabine oversees projects covering the Caucasus (North and South), Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, Turkey and Cyprus. Before joining Crisis Group in 2004, she served as Political Officer in the OSCE Election Observation Missions in Azerbaijan and Georgia from 2003 to 2004, as Human Dimensions/Legal Expert to the OSCE Central Asia Liaison Office in Tashkent from 1999 to 2000 and Democratization Officer in the OSCE Mission to Bosnia in 1996-1998. She has a PhD from the London School of Economics, and a Masters from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium) which she obtained as a Fulbright Scholar.

Jean-Marie Guéhenno serves as Director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution. He also serves as Associate Director of the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies at SIPA and directs the school’s International Conflict Resolution Specialization. In the spring of 2012, Mr. Guéhenno was appointed Joint Deputy Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on Syria. He was recently appointed by French President François Hollande as chairman of the special commission to draft a white paper on French defense and national security.

As chair of the Senior Advisory Group for the Review of International Civilian Capacities, Mr. Guéhenno was responsible for a report on UN civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict that was issued in 2011. Mr. Guéhenno served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from 2000-2008. In that role, he led the largest expansion of peacekeeping in the history of the UN, overseeing approximately 130,000 staff on eighteen missions. Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Guéhenno served as director of policy planning in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassador to the Western European Union, and chairman of the French Institute of Higher Defense Studies.

Building Peace in Côte d’Ivoire with the Special Representative to the Secretary General

The Center for International Conflict Resolution at the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies invites you to:

Building Peace in Côte d’Ivoire: Challenges and Opportunities
With Albert Gerard Koenders
Special Representative to the Secretary General for Côte D’Ivoire

Introduction by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution

Thursday, April 4th
from 4:00-6:00 pm

Columbia University, International Affairs Building 

420 W. 118th Street
15th Floor, Room 1510

Mr. Albert Gerard Koenders has served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire Albert since October 2011. Mr. Koenders has more than 25 years of experience in international affairs, development cooperation and international policymaking on development, humanitarian, and governance issues.  He also served as Co-Chair of the Working Group for the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (Busan Conference) and Chair of the Rutgers World Population Foundation.

In his capacity as the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation from 2007 to 2010, Mr. Koenders was involved in integrated peace support initiatives in Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.  Before that, he was a member of the Netherlands House of Representatives from 1997 to 2007, and undertook several missions to conflict-afflicted areas in Africa and the Middle East.  Mr. Koenders chaired the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank/International Monetary Fund and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly, and served with the European Commission, as well as the United Nations, in Mozambique.  He was Foreign Policy Adviser to several Dutch Members of Parliament.

A graduate of the Free University of Amsterdam, Mr. Koenders holds a master’s degree in international economics and African studies from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C., and was Visiting Professor for Conflict Management at Johns Hopkins University in Bologna from 2000 to 2002.Mr. Koenders was born in the Netherlands in 1958.

Due to limited seating, registration for this event on Sundial is required.

Mali: Perspectives on the Current Crisis and the Future

The Center for International Conflict Resolution and the UN Studies Program invite you to a panel discussion:

Mali: Academic and Practitioner Perspectives on the Current Crisis and the Future

Tuesday, March 12, 2013
6:00-8:00 p.m.
International Affairs Building, Columbia University
15th Floor, Room 1510
420 West 118 Street, New York City

While Mali was hailed by many as a model of African democracy, recent political events have revealed the fragility of the state.  Facing a variety of challenges including unequal development, the drug trade, international extremist networks, secessionist movements, and corruption, Mali presents vital questions that must be addressed for the benefit of the entire region and the world.  A discussion featuring a panel of experts including Fabienne Hara (International Crisis Group), Gregory Mann (History, Columbia University), and Youssef Mahmoud (IPI), who will also moderate, will discuss Mali’s contemporary and future challenges and the international implications of these challenges.

Due to limited seating, registration for this event on Sundial is required.

For further information regarding this event, please contact Jessica Baen at jrb2178@columbia.edu.

Fabienne Hara is Vice-President (Multilateral Affairs) of International Crisis Group. She is responsible for directing the organization’s advocacy efforts at the United Nations and the Security Council in New York, and directs the Crisis Group New York office. She has over fifteen years of experience in African conflict management and resolution issues, particularly focusing on peacekeeping and conflict resolution, refugees and transitional justice, and Sudan and the Horn of Africa. From 2006-7, she served as Acting Chief of the Political Affairs Division of the UN Mission in Sudan. Prior to this, she was co-director of ICG’s Africa program, and a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University. She also previously worked with the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Doctors of the World in Burundi, and academic institutions in France and Germany. Ms. Hara has been an observer to the Arusha and Lusaka peace processes in Burundi and DRC.

Youssef Mahmoud (moderator) is a Senior Adviser at International Peace Institute (IPI) supporting the Africa, Middle East, and peace operations programs. Youssef has held numerous senior positions at the UN, both in New York and in the field, including as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) and as Executive Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Burundi (BINUB). Prior to these assignments, he served as United Nations Resident Coordinator in Guyana and Director in the UN Department of Political Affairs. Before joining the United Nations in 1981, Youssef was Assistant Professor at the University of Tunis. He received his PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown University, Washington, DC, in 1979.

Historian of francophone West Africa, Gregory Mann teaches in the History Department of Columbia University. He is currently working on a book project entitled The End of the Road: Nongovernmentality in the West African Sahel. Drawing on research conducted primarily in Mali, as well as in Senegal and Niger, the project analyzes the rise of novel forms of political rationality among governments and non-governmental organizations in the Sahel from 1946 to the late 1970s. Mann’s articles have appeared in the American Historical Review, Comparative Studies in Society and History, the Journal of African History and Politique Africaine, among other publications. His award-winning book Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the 20th century was published by Duke University Press in 2006.

Building Peace in Colombia: the Government’s Efforts in the Demobilization and Reintegration of Illegal Armed Groups

A Dialogue with Alejandro Eder

·Director of the Colombian Agency for Reintegration (Agency responsible for over 35.000 former combatants)

·Member of the Government’s negotiating team holding peace talks with the Illegal Armed Group FARC to put an end to five decades of conflict in Colombia

· Columbia’s SIPA Alumnus 2006

Remarks by Prof. Jose Antonio Ocampo

·Director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration at SIPA and Member of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University

·Served in a number of high ranking positions in the United Nations and the Government of Colombia

Date:                    Monday January 28, 2013, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm (light refreshments will be served)

Location:          Room 1302, International Affairs Building, Saltzman Institute of War & Peace Studies, Columbia University

Confirmation of attendance suggested: Please send an e-mail to Carolina Ocampo-Maya by Friday January 26, 2013 at co2296@columbia.edu. Write “interested in event” on the subject and include your full name.

For further information please contact Carolina Ocampo-Maya (tel 917.434.4505) or Diego Bustamante (tel: 646.918.0746)

In collaboration with: The Center for International Conflict Resolution, The Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Colombian Students at Columbia University.

ICR Practicum: Drivers of Conflict and Peace

The Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) is pleased to invite you to:

ICR Practicum: Drivers of Conflict and Peace
A presentation by 2nd-year SIPA students

Monday, November 12th, 2012 from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Columbia University, International Affairs Building, Room 707

Co-moderated by CICR Director, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, and Professor Marc Jacquand

ICR Practicum Series is designed to increase students’ practical understanding of conflict dynamics and approaches to peace. Partnering with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), four student teams conducted eight-week data collection missions on topics related to natural resources management, foreign direct investment, and peacebuilding. The students will present key findings and recommendations. A wine and cheese reception will follow.

Chopping Progress: An Assessment of Liberia’s Forestry Sector and its Impact on State-building
Minhwan An, Hande Apakan, Sue-Ann Foster, Joshua Keller-Fish, and James Meisenheimer

A Return to El Dorado: The Impact of Foreign Investment in Gold Mining in Colombia
Aly Jiwani, Delaney Simon, Julien Barbey, Pushkar Sharma, Tory Webster

State Legitimacy in Haiti and its Implications for Governance, Natural Resource Management, and Inclusive Business Development
Kayoko Ajlani Hashimoto, Audrey Hanard, Keenan Mahoney, Valentin Olivry, Seisei Tatebe-Goddu

So Our Children Will Know: A Report on Challenges in Natural Resource Management in Northwestern Province, Zambia
Tarik Carney, Carlyn Cowen, Jesse Forsythe, Edward Janis, Zhiyao Ma

To RSVP or request further information, please contact Delaney Simon at djs2172@columbia.edu

To Syria and Back: Why We Must Not Give Up

The Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) at the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies (SIWPS), the Humanitarian Affairs Working Group, and SIPA Program on Humanitarian Affairs Invite You to:

Presentation/Discussion 

To Syria and Back: Why We Must Not Give Up

Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno (keynote speaker)
Director, Center for International Conflict Resolution, Assistant Director, SIWPS
Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs, Columbia SIPA

Dipali Mukhopadhyay (discussant)
Member, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

International Affairs Building

15th Floor, Room 1501

420 West 118 Street, New York City

From March to July of this year, Jean-Marie Guéhenno served as the Deputy Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on Syria, working with former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to lead a UN observer mission and seek a negotiated resolution to the conflict. Please join Professor Guéhenno for a presentation on the current situation in Syria and the role of international intervention in the ongoing civil war.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. You can click here to register.

Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping: Protecting Civilians WITHOUT Guns – Monday, Oct. 1st, 4:30 p.m.

Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping:  Protecting Civilians WITHOUT Guns

Monday, October 1^st, 2012

4:30pm-6:00pm

International Affairs Building Room 1302

RSVP to Jessica Baen: jrb2178@columbia.edu

Unarmed civilian peacekeeping is a relatively new innovation for protecting civilians and reducing violence without the use of armed force. Tiffany Easthom is South Sudan Country Director for the Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP), an international non-governmental organization that has worked to promote, develop and implement unarmed civilian peacekeeping.  Ms. Easthom will present on the NP’s experience in Sri Lanka, South Sudan and elsewhere, with a special focus on women’s peacekeeping teams. The discussion will conclude with a panel of respondents and then open for questions.

Participant Biographies:

Tiffany Easthom is an international leader in the practice of unarmed civilian peacekeeping.  She currently serves as the Country Director for Nonviolent Peaceforce’s peacekeeping project in South Sudan supervising 8 peacekeeping teams in five states.  Her work in South Sudan has included the return and protection of child soldiers, working with women on protective strategies for gender based violence, direct protection for refugees and IDPS, inter-communal violence reduction, and, the implementation of conflict early warning early response systems. Prior to becoming NP’s Country Director in South Sudan, Tiffany served as Country Director at NP’s Sri Lanka project as well as  Country Director for Peace Brigades International in Indonesia. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Justice Studies and a Master’s Degree in Human Security and Peacebuilding from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Responders Panel:

Dirk Salomons is the director of the Program for Humanitarian Affairs at the School of International Public Affairs, Columbia University, where he also heads the International Organizations specialization. In his research as well as in teaching, Salomons focuses on the interaction between policy and management in humanitarian operations; he has a particular interest in the transition from relief to recovery in countries coming out of conflict.

Prior to joining the SIPA faculty in 2002, Salomons served since 1997 as managing partner of the Praxis Group, Ltd., an international management consulting firm based in the USA and Switzerland, where he still plays an advisory role. Praxis works mainly with public service entities, applying its expertise in humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, and post conflict recovery as well as in human resources management. Salomons is also a non-resident fellow at New York University’s Center on International cooperation, working mainly on post-conflict stabilization issues. From 1970-1997, Salomons served in a wide range of management, peace building, and policy advisory functions in several organizations of the United Nations system, including FAO, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNOPS, and the UN Secretariat. His most cherished assignment was that of executive director for the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Mozambique, from 1992 to 1993. Salomons received a “kandidaats” degree from the University of Amsterdam in 1964, and subsequently obtained his “doctoraal”, also at the University of Amsterdam, in 1967.

Betty A. Reardon is the Founding Director Emeritus of the International Institute on Peace Education, an annual intensive residential experience in peace education.  Since 1982 the IIPE has been held at universities and peace education centers in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Central America. For this work she received a special Honorable Mention Award from UNESCO in 2001.  Among her other initiatives in the international peace education movement, she  initiated and served as the first Academic Coordinator of the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education. Having taught as a visiting professor at a number of universities in the U.S. and abroad, she has 46 years of experience in international peace education and 33 years in the international movement for the human rights of women. She has served as a consultant to several UN agencies and national and international education organizations. Her widely published work in the theory and development of peace and human rights education, and in gender and peace issues, recognized in the awarding of the 2008 Award for Outstanding Contribution to Peace Studies from the Peace and Justice Studies Association, is archived in the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections at the University of Toledo Libraries. She is the recipient of the 2009 Sean McBride Peace Prize awarded by the International Peace Bureau, the oldest of the many nongovernmental peace organizations, founded in 1891, awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2010.

Kiryn Lanning is a dual master’s degree student with the School of International and Public Affairs and the Mailman School of Public Health. Prior to beginning graduate school Kiryn worked for The Food Trust and Congreso de Latinos Unidos in Philadelphia and also volunteered in Haiti working in mobile medical clinics. She is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (El Salvador). Most recently Kiryn worked with the Child Protection in Crisis Network in Liberia and South Sudan. In South Sudan Kiryn’s research focused on emergency response and its impact on the national child protection system.