Stanford University

Peacekeeping

Causes and Dynamics of the Syrian Uprising: From Civil Protests to the Implications of the Russian Intervention

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Abstract

After nearly five years since the start of the uprising, Syria finds itself divided and embattled, with no end in sight. More significantly, more than half of the Syrian population is displaced and the death toll surpassed 300,000 by all counts. The Syrian tragedy persists and, more than any other case of mass uprising in the region, continues to be shrouded in political power-plays and contradictions at the local, regional, and international levels. Defined increasingly by an absence of a clear favorable outcome, considering existing parties to the conflict, the logic of the lesser evil reigns supreme. This lecture is an attempt to understand the roots and dynamics of the tragic Syrian uprising, with particular attention to its background and to the recent Russian intervention.

Speaker Bio

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Bassam Haddad is Director of the Middle East Studies Program and Associate Professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University, and is Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011). Haddad is currently editing a volume on Teaching the Middle East After the Arab Uprisings, a book manuscript on pedagogical and theoretical approaches. His most recent books include two co-edited volumes: Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order? (Pluto Press, 2012) and Mediating the Arab Uprisings (Tadween Publishing, 2013). Haddad serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal a peer-reviewed research publication and is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the critically acclaimed film series, Arabs and Terrorism, based on extensive field research/interviews. More recently, he directed a film on Arab/Muslim immigrants in Europe, titled The "Other" Threat. Haddad is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and serves on the Editorial Committee of Middle East Report. He is the Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute, an umbrella for five organizations dealing with knowledge production on the Middle East and Founding Editor of Tadween Publishing.

 

This event is co-sponsored by The Markaz: Resource Center at Stanford University.

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CISAC Central Conference Room
Encina Hall, 2nd Floor
616 Serra St
Stanford, CA 94305

Bassam Haddad Associate Professor George Mason University
Seminars
Arab Reform and Democracy Speaker Series

Conflict and Crisis: Implications of Ongoing Human Rights Violations in Syria

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**To RSVP, please email Jessie Brunner at jbrunner@stanford.edu.**

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Abstract

As the protracted and chaotic conflict in Syria continues into its fifth year, Syrians of all backgrounds are being subjected to gross human rights violations. A growing number of parties to the conflict, including the Government and the Islamic State, display disregard for international legal conventions and employ tactics such as sexual violence, murder, and torture that have resulted in mass civilian casualties, large-scale displacement, and the destruction of Syria’s cultural heritage.

Peter Bouckaert

Peter Bouckaert is Human Rights Watch’s emergencies director, coordinating the organization’s response to major wars and other human rights crises. A Belgian-born Stanford Law School graduate, Bouckaert has conducted fact-finding missions around the world, including currently documenting Syrian refugees in Europe.

Sareta Ashraph

Sareta Ashraph specializes in international criminal, humanitarian, and human rights law and has served since 2012 as the Senior Analyst on the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, investigating and reporting on violations of international law in the context of ongoing events in Syria.

To RSVP, please email Jessie Brunner at jbrunner@stanford.edu.

Peter Bouckaert Director, Emergencies, Human Rights Watch
Sareta Ashraph Senior Analyst, UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
Seminars

CDDRL co-hosts conference on state-strengthening in Afghanistan

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The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), in partnership with Chatham House and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), recently held a conference on state-strengthening in Afghanistan. Bringing together leading specialists from government, NGOs and academia, the conference examined lessons from state-strengthening efforts in Afghanistan over the past fourteen years and identified best practices that could help support the country’s future development and inform other international interventions. The conference was held at the USIP headquarters in Washington, D.C., from March 16-17.

CDDRL Affiliated Scholar Karl Eikenberry delivered a keynote address at the conference, reflecting on his experiences both as U.S. ambassador and military commander in Afghanistan.  He emphasized the importance of building national security forces in ways that will ensure their political reliability and coherence, and he contrasted the U.S. experience in Afghanistan with Iraq. Amb. Eikenberry also discussed the failure of the U.S. military to designate the training of the Afghan security forces as its main effort. Instead, it spent far more resources conducting its own unilateral combat and civil-military operations. To view a video of Eikenberry's address, please see below.

The conference was also attended by CDDRL Affiliated Faculty Member Erik Jensen, who presented a paper on lessons learned from attempts to build the rule of law in Afghanistan. Jensen is a professor of the practice of law at Stanford Law School, where he also directs the school's Rule of Law Program. He currently serves as faculty advisor to the Afghanistan Legal Education Project, an ongoing student-driven project aimed at establishing a legal curriculum at the American University of Afghanistan. To read more on Jensen's work and his commentary on the conference, please see this Q&A published in the April 2015 edition of the Stanford Lawyer.

Conference speakers advised that in order to secure sustained peace in Afghanistan, the international community must commit to long-term projects aimed at developing critical government institutions and civil society, promoting long-term sustainable economic growth, and improving the performance of the army and police.

Both Eikenberry and Jensen contributed to the policy statement sent to American and Afghan policy makers on the eve of Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani's visit to the U.S. They are currently working on a co-authored policy piece with colleagues from the United States Institute of Peace and Chatham House that will be published later this month.

 

 

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Conference Report: Violence and Policing in Latin American and U.S. Cities [April 2014]

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The global cities of Latin America - Rio de Janeiro, Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, Mexico City and Medellin - have become engines of economic growth. These cities attract remarkable talent across all levels and build extensive networks that allow for innovation and the circulation of ideas. But crime, violence and the dissolution of the social fabric threaten the main attraction of these cities and significantly undermine development prospects. The challenge of providing policing that protects citizens, especially those living in the poorest neighborhoods where gangs and other criminal organizations tend to concentrate, is daunting. The conference on violence and policing in Latin America and US cities brought together academics, policy makers, NGOs, and citizens to reflect on how cities in Latin America are meeting the challenges of rising
criminal violence. Particular focus was given to the “policing” processes in cities that have experienced and successfully reduced civil war-like levels of violence. The goal was to reflect on the dynamics and varieties of security strategies, police reform and efforts to rebuild the social fabric of major cities. The conference was hosted by the Program on Poverty and Governance (PovGov) at Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). Other centers and institutions at Stanford University that co-sponsored the conference include the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), the Bill Lane Center for the American West, the Mexico Initiative’ at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).
 
For a complete conference overview, please click here. 
 
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Veriene Melo

Sexual Violence in Conflict: a Conversation

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Zainab Hawa Bangura of Sierra Leone is Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict at the level of Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations.

Prior to this appointment, Ms. Bangura was the Minister of Health and Sanitation for the Government of Sierra Leone, and brings to the position over 20 years of policy, diplomatic and practical experience in the field of governance, conflict resolution and reconciliation in Africa. She was previously the second female Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, including Chief Adviser and Spokesperson of the President on bilateral and international issues. Ms. Bangura has been instrumental in developing national programmes on affordable health, advocating for the elimination of genital mutilation, managing the country’s Peace Building Commission and contributing to the multilateral and bilateral relations with the international community. She is experienced in meeting with interlocutors in diverse situations, including rebel groups, and familiar in dealing with State and non-State actors relevant to issues of sexual violence while fighting corruption and impunity.

Ms. Bangura has on-the-ground experience with peacekeeping operations from within the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), where she was responsible for the management of the largest civilian component of the Mission, including promoting capacity-building of government institutions and community reconciliation. She is an experienced results-driven civil society, human and women’s rights campaigner and democracy activist, notably as Executive Director of the National Accountability Groups, Chair and Co-founder of the Movement for Progress Party of Sierra Leone, as well as Coordinator and Co-founder of the Campaign for Good Governance.

Ms. Bangura is a former fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London, possessing Diplomas in Insurance Management from the City University Business School of London and Nottingham University. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.

Building 200 (History Corner)
Room 205
Stanford University

Zainab Bangura United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Speaker
Seminars
Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Speaker Series
Program on Human Rights

AMENDS Inaugural Conference - Meet the Leaders of the New Middle East

 

 

 

Summit Schedule

 

Day 1: Wednesday 11 April  
     
  2:00 – 5:30 PM
Paul Brest Hall

“Technology, Social Media, and Innovation”

AMENDS Talks Speakers:Aymen Abderrahman, Selma Chirouf, Rawan Da’as, Elizabeth Harmon, Sonya Kassis, Heather Libbe, Ifrah Magan, Sherif Maktabi, Brian Pellot, George Somi
     
  6:30 – 8:30 PM

Innovation and Entrepreneurial Leadership Dinner

Co-Sponsored by TechWadi

By Invitation Only
 

Day 2: Thursday 12 April

     
  2:00 – 5:30 PM
Paul Brest Hall

“Building Civil Society”

AMENDS Talks Speakers: Firas Al-Dabagh, Abdullah Al-Fakharany, Marwan Alabed, Cole Bockenfeld, Nadir Ijaz, Selma Maarouf, Matthew Morantz, Alaa Mufleh, Fadi Quran, Nada Ramadan

 

Day 3: Friday 13 April

     
  9:00 AM- 12:00
Gunn-SIEPR Building

“Peace and Conflict Resolution”

AMENDS Talks Speakers: Sherihan Abdel-Rahman, Sam Adelsberg, Mohammad Al-Jishi, Abdulla Al-Misnad, Yahya Bensliman, Ilyes El-Ouarzadi, Sandie Hanna, Priya Knudson, Megan McConaughey, Gavin Schalliol
     
  1:30 – 5:00 PM
Gunn-SIEPR Building

Speakers and Panelists

Sami Ben Gharbia Tunisian political activist, Foreign Policy Top 100 Thinker

Professor Allen Weiner Co-Director of Stanford Univeristy Center on International Conflict and Negotiation
Thomas T. Riley Former Ambassador to Morocco

Radwan Masmoudi Founder and President of the Center of the Study of Islam & Democracy
     
  6:30 – 8:30 PM
Paul Brest Hall

Networking Dinner

By Invitation Only 

 

Day 4: Saturday 14 April

     
  9:00 AM- 12:00
Bechtel Conference Center, Encina Hall		 “The New Middle East”  

AMENDS Talks Speakers: Firyal Abdulaziz, Lubna Alzaroo, Hoor Al-Khaja, Ali Al-Murtadha, Jessica Anderson, Seif Elkhawanky, Micah Hendler, Salmon Hossein, Ram Sachs, Rana Sharif
     
  1:30 – 5:00 PM
Bechtel Conference Center, Encina Hall

Speakers and Panelists

Rami Khouri Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut

Ahmed Benchemsi Moroccan journalist and pro-democracy activist

Professor Aaron Hahn Tapper Founder of Abraham’s Vision

Nasser Weddady Civil Rights Outreach Director, American Islamic Congress

Day 1 - Paul Brest Hall
Day 2 - Paul Brest Hall
Day 3 - Gunn-SIEPR Building
Day 4 - Bechtel Conference Center, Encina Hall

Conferences

Madeline Rees speaks out against human trafficking abuses within the UN system

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Nadejda Marques
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On January 24, Madeline Rees, former U.N. high commissioner for human rights in Bosnia and secretary general for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, spoke at the second installment of the Sanela Diana Jenkins International Speaker Series. Rees, has been working with the CDDRL Program on Human Rights to promote research on human trafficking, posed an interesting question: can extraterritorial jurisdiction — the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its borders — be a tool for improving accountability for human rights abuse during peacekeeping operations?

Rees was referring to a situation that she experienced in Bosnia where peacekeepers reportedly abused, tortured and actively trafficked women and girls. She noted, however, that there have been similar situations and accusations of sexual exploitation and abuse, including sex trafficking, in U.N. missions ranging from Cambodia to Haiti to Congo since the 1990s. Rees argued that these abuses and the involvement of peacekeepers in human trafficking in particular, result from a combination of factors, which include:

  • The perception of immunity (based on UN peacekeepers status)
  • Impunity that results from the lack of specific legislation and enforcement mechanisms
  • Lack of formal training
  • Peer pressure
  • Patriarchic militarized model of peacekeeping

There has been some slow progress. Rees recalled that when she first brought up the issue of human trafficking to the U.N., laughter was a common response. Her struggle, portrayed in part in the recent film The Whistleblower, has enabled an open discussion within the U.N. In 2007, the U.N. created the Department of Field Support and made some structural changes, but these reforms have not yet addressed the heart of the problem. In part, Rees believes, this is because the U.N. has lacked the political will to hold peacekeepers accountable for their actions.

 

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