One of the world’s most prominent international affairs forums—Fareed Zakaria’s GPS on CNN—showcased the work of the Institute for Inclusive Security and the critical need to involve women as decision-makers to end conflict and sustain peace. Zakaria concluded his first show of 2016 on January 3 with an eight-minute segment featuring former US Ambassador Swanee […]
This article was originally published by Global Post. Fall 1995. First Lady Hillary Clinton shrugged off objections from United Nations-bashers, congressional Republicans, and State Department officials nervous about relations with China. As honorary chair of the US delegation, she insisted on addressing the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. As backdrop to the […]
This article was originally published by Defense One. In April 2011, a crowd of 2,000 women and children blocked a highway in northwestern Syria to demand that government officials release hundreds of men who had been rounded up in neighboring villages. The protest succeeded and the men came home. Through four years of horrendous civil […]
This piece was originally published by The Takeaway. Twenty years ago, then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton stood before an audience of Chinese dignitaries in Beijing and and declared that “women’s rights are human rights.” “I believe that now, on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break the silence,” she said. “It […]
This article was originally published by The Weekly Wonk. When warring parties agree to consider terms for peace, it’s usually a cause for optimism. But as South Sudan’s belligerents mull over a proposed compromise agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hope seems futile. The mediators have set August 17 as an urgent deadline for ending the […]
This article was originally published by The Boston Globe. As US Ambassador to Austria, I took part in a ceremony in May 1995 marking the half-century anniversary of the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp by American forces. One after another, envoys stood at the wreath-laying and declared: “Never again.” Yet within a few hundred […]
This article was originally published by Global Post. Open your favorite fashion magazine these days and you may see an unfamiliar sight: women in uniform, holding automatic weapons. Strangely glam portraits of fierce female warriors have recently proliferated. To most, they seem novel, out of the ordinary. But the truth is that women have taken […]
This article was published by Public Radio International. What does bravery look like? What strength and character does it take to risk imprisonment, torture, and even death for the sake of a future you may not see? I know what it looks like. I’ve witnessed it in Syrians of all ages, religions, and ethnicities. I’ve […]
The Colombian civil war is winding down after more than 50 years and 222,000 casualties. How will the country help 8,000 guerrilla fighters transition back into civilian life? A key step will be ensuring that female combatants—who make up 30-40% of the FARC armed forces—are meaningfully integrated in the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration process. In […]
This article was originally published by Foreign Policy. After 50-plus years, 222,000 deaths, $9 billion in U.S. aid, and 34 rounds of negotiations, one of the world’s longest civil wars might finally be nearing its end. The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known by its Spanish acronym FARC) have agreed to […]
