Victoria K. Holt
Distinguished Fellow
Legacy Program: Protecting Civilians in Conflict
Sofia Sebastian
Former Visiting Fellow
Jenna Stern
Former Visiting Fellow
The Need for Monitoring and Evaluation in Advancing Protection of Civilians
Despite all the progress the United Nations has made on protection of civilians (POC) policy in the past twenty years, and the innovative protection practices UN peacekeepers have implemented in the field as a result, it is unclear if and to what extent those practices are effective at reducing violence against civilians. This is because …
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Evolution of the protection of civilians in UN peacekeeping
This Special Report, published by ASPI, includes contributions from leading experts in the field, including Stimson Center experts, Victoria Holt, Managing Director, and Aditi Gorur, Senior Fellow and Director of the Protecting Civilians in Conflict program, examining some of the contemporary challenges facing UN peacekeeping missions and the actions that can be taken by member states to …
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Hearing on “United Nations Peacekeeping in Africa”
April 30, 2019 – Tori Holt tesified in front of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights and International Organizations, a part of the House Foreign Affairs Committees in the U.S. House of Representatives about the United Nations (U.N.) Peacekeeping in Africa, highlighting the important role the United States need to play in global …
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Can International Organizations Promote Democracy?
Organizing Democracy, a new book by Paul Poast and Johannes Urpelainen, argues that new democracies are more likely to flourish when they receive support from international organizations to help them provide public goods to their populations. This event will present the findings of Organizing Democracy, analyze the relationships between new democracies and international organizations in …
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Aditi Gorur Quoted on John Bolton Appointment as National Security Adviser
Read the full article here
U.N. Peacekeeping & Host-State Consent
A fundamental principle of United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping is that missions deploy only with the consent of the main parties to a conflict, including the host-state government. In practice, however, the absence of genuine host-state consent represents one of the greatest threats to the success of modern peacekeeping missions.
Aditi Gorur Quoted on U.N. Peacekeeping Troops
Read article here.
Rachel Stohl Interviewed on US-led Arms Export Industry Fueling Civilian Deaths
Watch interview here.
Aditi Gorur quoted on UN Peacekeeping Budget Cut
Read article here.
Aditi Gorur Op-Ed on America’s Role to Avert Genocide in Central African Republic
Today President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic (CAR) will ask the United Nations to help him put an end to the crisis in his country. On the surface, it’s a tough sell, given how many conflicts around the world demand international attention, and how few interests the United States has in the impoverished African nation. …
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Improving UN Situational Awareness
The United Nations (U.N.) is mandated and resourced to prevent and respond to mass human suffering caused by conflict, natural disaster, and disease. Yet it is often criticized for failing to act in a timely way. There are many structural, political, and practical reasons for these failures, and the solutions are not easy. One important …
Statement of Aditi Gorur: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Statement — Briefing on Democratic Republic of the Congo: An Update Aditi Gorur Director, Protecting Civilians in Conflict Program, Stimson Center House Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Washington, DC August 23, 2017 As Prepared Thank you to the members of the Commission for the invitation to speak to you today. I am …
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Aditi Gorur Briefs Capitol Hill on Political Situation in Congo
Political Situation in Congo The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hosted a panel discussion on the current political and security situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Speakers also discussed emerging human rights violations, local conflicts, and the challenges facing United Nations peacekeepers in the DRC. Panelists included representatives from Amnesty International, the …
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Preventing Forced Return in Lebanon and the Greater Levant
By Jesse Marks The Syrian refugee crisis has created enormous burdens for Syria’s neighbors — and none more so than Lebanon, which accounts for the highest refugee per capita in the world at 1.5 million Syrian refugees. The pressure of hosting so many refugees has had wide-ranging effects, even aiding the growth of Hay’at Tahrir …
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Jesse Marks’ op-ed in World Politics Review on ending Syrian sieges with diplomacy
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, called them “starve, surrender and slaughter” tactics. Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called them a “war crime.” Sieges have been especially brutal on civilians in Syria’s civil war, yet they remain the Syrian government’s favorite strategy for retaking territory and purging key regions of the country …
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Making Syria Safe for Refugees
As Russia’s “de-escalation plan” for the ongoing war in Syria takes effect, neighboring countries are keen to return massive Syrian refugee populations to the four safe zones that the plan establishes in the western part of the country. Key leaders in Lebanon and Jordan are continuing to advocate for return, and according to Turkish officials, …
Jesse Marks’ and Alexander Decina’s op-ed in Foreign Affairs on protecting civilians in Syrian safe zones
As Russia’s “de-escalation plan” for the ongoing war in Syria takes effect, neighboring countries are keen to return massive Syrian refugee populations to the four safe zones that the plan establishes in the western part of the country. Key leaders in Lebanon and Jordan are continuing to advocate for return, and according to Turkish officials, …
Rachel Stohl and Shannon Dick’s Op-ed in Foreign Policy on child soldiers
The Donald Trump administration released the annual Trafficking in Persons Report this week, which includes the list of governments known to use or support the use of child soldiers and thus which may be prohibited from receiving U.S. weapons and military assistance. Yet this year’s list is particularly remarkable for what it lacks, namely the identification …
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Rachel Stohl quoted in The Independent on child soldiers
The US has named China as one of the worst offenders for human trafficking in an annual report which could aggravate tensions between the nations as they try to work out how to deal with North Korea. -snip- Rachel Stohl, who directs the Conventional Defence program at Washington DC think tank Stimson Center told The Independentthat one of the more controversial …
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Field Notes — Protecting Civilians in the Central African Republic
Since 2014, MINUSCA — the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic — has worked to protect civilians and keep the peace. Stimson experts Aditi Gorur and Madeline Vellturo traveled to CAR to see the progress made, and the work that remains to be done. Click on the picture below to read their Field Notes.
Russia Must Bring Assad, “Pragmatic” Opposition to Table to Set Safe Zones
Early last month, Russia put forward a “de-escalation” plan for Syria under which major opposition-held territories in western parts of the country, including northwestern Idlib province, northern Homs countryside, the eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus, and parts of southern Syria, would become safe zones and fall under ceasefires to be enforced by the so-called guarantors …
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Alex Decina and Jesse Marks Op-ed in The Cipher Brief on Russia’s De-escalation Plan for Syria
Early last month, Russia put forward a “de-escalation” plan for Syria under which major opposition-held territories in western parts of the country, including northwestern Idlib province, northern Homs countryside, the eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus, and parts of southern Syria, would become safe zones and fall under ceasefires to be enforced by the so-called guarantors …
Alexander Decina and Jesse Marks’ Op-ed in Defense One on Potential US – Iran Confrontation in Syria
The United States is treading a narrow line in southeastern Syria, attempting to counter Iranian expansion without exacerbating the conflict or further embroiling American troops. A recent push by Iranian-backed groups toward a base used by U.S. advisors is elevating the prospects of direct conflict between the United States and Iran. While U.S. forces could easily rout Iran’s allies, this …
Can Russian Safe Zones Solve Syria?
If there was any doubt the Russians are now leading diplomatic efforts on Syria, the latest round of Astana talks made it abundantly clear. On May 4, Russia reached an agreement with Turkey and Iran to create safe zones — “de-escalation zones,” in the parlance — beginning at midnight the following day. Located in Idlib, …
Alexander Decina and Jesse Marks’ Op-ed in Defense One on Russian Safe Zones in Syria
If there was any doubt the Russians are now leading diplomatic efforts on Syria, the latest round of Astana talks made it abundantly clear. On May 4, Russia reached an agreement with Turkey and Iran to create safe zones — “de-escalation zones,” in the parlance — beginning at midnight the following day. Located in Idlib, northern …
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Will Trump Benefit from Obama’s “Red Line” Mistake?
In 2013, Obama’s red line in Syria following the regime’s use of chemical weapons failed to produce any real intervention. Tuesday’s chemical weapon attack in Idlib, shadowing the Brussels conference where seventy countries gathered on the same day to determine Syria’s future, could be the Trump administration’s golden entry into the Syrian peace process. But, …
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Aditi Gorur quoted in The Christian Science Monitor on Trump’s Approach to UN Peacekeeping
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y.—These days Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone may be stable countries of a quietly advancing West Africa, but two decades ago that was not the case. All three were embroiled in civil conflicts with deep political turmoil and horrendous violence that left no one safe. -snip- “How to make peacekeeping better and …
Nontraditional Actors: China and Russia in African Peace Operations
By Elor Nkereuwem As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and Russia have presented themselves as supporters of the principle of “African solutions to African problems.” Yet their voting behavior at the Security Council, and their support for U.N. peace operations in Africa, have not always been consistent with this rhetoric. This …
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Human Trafficking: An Agenda for Action in the Trump Administration
Watch the event video below or click here. Human trafficking is a challenge that defies easy solutions. This modern day form of slavery straddles geographic boundaries as well as policy sectors — and cannot be effectively addressed by governments alone. The Stimson Center hosted an on-the-record event examining what governments, civil society, and private sector actors can …
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Aditi Gorur quoted in Associated Press on UN Peacekeeping in Haiti
CITE SOLEIL, Haiti (AP) — A few dozen Brazilian troops wearing the blue helmets of the U.N. military force stroll through a dense warren of shacks in Haiti’s most notorious slum, facing no greater threat than a few barking dogs along some of the same streets where pitched gunbattles between gangs and peacekeepers used to …
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Aditi Gorur quoted in The Washington Post on UN Counterterrorism
Since World War II, U.N. peacekeepers have been dispatched to 69 conflicts — civil wars, border disputes and failed states. But now they are confronting an unsettling new threat: al-Qaeda. -snip- “Peacekeepers are only meant to use deadly force to protect civilians or to stop spoilers from threatening a peace process, not to pursue any …
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Aditi Gorur quoted in AFP on UN Peacekeeping
United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Washington’s new UN envoy Nikki Haley is putting in motion a far-reaching review of UN peacekeeping that is likely to lead to closures and downsizing of missions, according to diplomats. -snip- But analyst Aditi Gorur said funding cuts to UN missions in South Sudan, DR Congo, the Central African …
Local Conflict, Local Peacekeeping
Although United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping missions are mandated in response to major national- or international-level conflicts, missions are often confronted with a variety of locally-driven conflicts once they deploy. The 2015 report of the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations emphasized two core objectives of peacekeeping missions: supporting political processes that lead to sustainable peace, …
Defining the Boundaries of UN Stabilization Missions
In 2004, the United Nations Security Council authorized the first stabilization mission in Haiti. Since then, it has authorized three more in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and the Central African Republic. Yet the Security Council has never defined the term “stabilization,” explained how stabilization missions differ from other U.N. peace operations, or elaborated …
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