Giffen Briefs American Engagement Caucus
On June 17, 2010, Alison Giffen, Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Future of Peace Operations Program, briefed the American Engagement Caucus in the House of Representatives on "Protecting Civilians in Armed Conflict: Translating US National Security Strategy Aspirations into Reality." The 2010 National Security Strategy commits the United States to build support in other countries “to contribute to sustaining global peace and stability operations, through UN peacekeeping and regional organizations and to work both multilaterally and bilaterally to mobilize diplomatic, humanitarian, financial, and—in certain instances—military means to prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities.” At the briefing, Alison Giffen and Erin Weir, Refugee International’s Senior Advocate for Peacekeeping, discussed how ready the United Nations, regional organizations and/or single nations are to effectively prevent and respond to widespread and systematic abuse against civilians and what steps they should take to meet this commitment.