David L. Phillips, Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights, gave remarks on peace negotiations between Turkey and the Kurdish Workers Party at the Kurdish Studies & Politics One Day Conference (May 6, 2013). Mr. Phillips presented his recent paper on “Negotiating Peace with the PKK.” The conference was organized by the Organization for the Advancement of Studies of Inner Eurasian Societies and co-sponsored by The Human Rights Concentration at Columbia University’s SIPA.

On Friday, May 3, 2013, the Program on Peace-building and Rights hosted a discussion on the “Albanian Neighborhood Initiative.” Facilitated by David L. Phillips, (Program Director), participants heard from Besa Shahini (Senior Analyst, European Stability Initiative), Danielle Goldberg (Program Coordinator), and Venera Kusari (MA Candidate of Negotiation and Conflict Resolution), with commentary by H.E. Ferit Hoxha (Permanent Representative of Albania to the UN). The discussion set goals for a ‘normal’ Albania, in which Albanians may engage in business and cultural activities in a broader, transborder community.

David L. Phillips (Director, the Program on Peace-building and Rights) facilitated a discussion with Richard Engel (Chief Foreign Correspondent, NBC News) on the topic of Ending the Civil War in Syria (April 25, 2013). Engel also discussed the sequence of his Syrian kidnapping—and how his captors terrorized their victims.

On Genocide Remembrance Day (April 24, 2013) David L. Phillips (Director, Program on Peace-building and Rights) led a seminar on Turkish and Armenia relations. Students of Turkish and Armenian descent participated in the seminar and engaged in dialogue with Mr. Phillips and each other.

The Program on Peace-building and Rights assembled members of the Sudanese Diaspora for a two day Strategic Planning and Organization Development Seminar (April 20 – 21, 2013). Supported by the U.S. Institute of Peace Public Education for Peacebuilding Support Initiative, participants received media training from Andrew Frank of Karv Communication as a part of the Two Sudans Project’s continuing series. Discussions were facilitated by David L. Phillips, Danielle Goldberg, and ISHR Visiting Scholar Ahmed  Hussain Adam Adam.

David L. Phillips  presented with Wafaa el-Sadr (Director, International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs) and Joan Kaufman (Director, Global Center, East Asia) on the political and health care situations in Myanmar. The seminar briefed students at the Mailman School of Public Health on Columbia University activities in Myanmar and challenges faced by healthcare administrators in the country. Wafaa el-Sadr and Joan Kaufman were among the faculty who visited Myanmar with Columbia University’s Myanmar Assistance Program.

Congratulations to 2010 Advocate Bakary Tandia who was one of 27 leaders and organizations honored by the New York City Police Department Community Affairs Bureau for their continued support to the immigrant community and for helping the New Immigrant Outreach Unit in improving community relations throughout the city.

The Program on Peace-building and Rights hosted H.E. U Aung Min, Myanmar’s Chief Peace Negotiator, for a discussion with students, faculty and friends on the peace process in Myanmar. Prior to the lecture, the Minister and his delegation attended an informal lunch discussion, facilitated by David L. Phillips, Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights.  Faculty members from ISHR, Columbia’s Law School, the Earth Institute, the Mailman School of Public Health, the Journalism School and SIPA attended to discuss Columbia’s system-wide response to opportunities in Myanmar.

The Program on Peace-building and Rights launched Columbia’s “Myanmar Assistance Program,” a system-wide response to opportunities in Myanmar involving different faculty/schools at Columbia University. Program Director David L. Phillips and Program Coordinator Danielle Goldberg visited Myanmar, along with colleagues from Columbia’s Law School, the Mailman School of Public Health, and the School of International and Public Affairs, to assess conditions and prepare activities related to legislative training, constitutional issues, media/journalism training, public health capacity building and women’s empowerment. The program builds upon suggestions made by Aung San Suu Kyi in September 2012, when ISHR hosted her at Columbia with the World Leaders Forum.

The Program on Peace-building and Rights held a “Dialogue on Power-Sharing in Syria” with Syrians to discuss future governance arrangements in Paris, France (February 27 – March 1, 2013). International experts presented on constitutional power-sharing, decentralization, citizenship and democracy, and lessons from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). ISHR Associate Director Yasmine Ergas presented on “Individual, Minority, and Group Rights”. Logistical coordination was provided by the Kurdish Institute of Paris (FIKP).  Six government representatives from Norway, the United States and France observed.  The meeting was facilitated by David L. Phillips, who prepared the Chairman’s Statement.

The Program on Peace-building and Rights, in collaboration with Southeast European University, held a training/transfer of Columbia’s semester-long course on “Conflict Resolution and Social Harmony” in Tetovo, Macedonia. Twenty-one educators from throughout the Western Balkans participated. Led by Program Coordinator Danielle Goldberg and co-trainer Bonnie Miller, the training encouraged faculty and student exchanges and cross-border cooperation among Albanians and other peoples in the Western Balkans. Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Musa Xhaferri, gave opening remarks. The training received extensive media coverage in Macedonia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcEgCRNceK8.

The Program on Peace-building and Rights hosted a discussion with Hon. Dr. Priscilla Joseph Kuch, Deputy Minister of Gender Child and Social Welfare from the Republic of South Sudan. Chaired by Danielle Goldberg, Program Coordinator, and moderated by Director, David L. Phillips, participants discussed issues of peace, security and development affecting women in South Sudan.

The role of women in the peace process is one important issue of many addressed by Two Sudans Forum. A summary and analysis of the discussion was published in the Sudan Tribune. The Two Sudans Forum is supported by the U.S. Institute of Peace Public Education for Peacebuilding Support Initiative.

Every year, ISHR’s Human Rights Essay Contest awards cash prizes to two graduate students and two undergraduate students currently enrolled at Columbia University to recognize exceptionally written papers addressing human rights issues. Prize winners and authors of other outstanding submissions will participate in the Human Rights Student Colloquium on Thursday, March 28, 2013 from 12:15-2pm in IAB 1302.

Full text now available on the UNICEF website.

ISHR’s Program on Peace-building and Rights hosted a Two Sudans Forum with John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project. and one of the leading civilian allies for the people of Sudan (March 6, 2013). The discussion, facilitated by David L. Phillips, Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights, highlighted the need for the entire Sudanese community to unify in support of political stability and social justice in the Two Sudans. ISHR Visiting Scholar Ahmed Adam contributed remarks. Supported by the U.S. Institute of Peace Public Education for Peacebuilding Support Initiative, a summary of the discussion was published in the Sudan Tribune.