Your participation is appreciated for Actionable Dialogue at the next Annual United Nations Association – National Capital Area (UNA-NCA) Peace and Security Roundtable Event co-sponsored with The Institute of World Politics, Global Communities, and the The Alliance for Peace-building featuring keynote speaker, Dr. Shelly Pitterman, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Washington D.C. Director
When: Thursday, May 21, 2015
Time: 2:00p.m. - 7:00p.m. (Food and refreshments with evening reception)
Where: The Institute of World Politics, 16th Street Northwest, Washington, DC
Member = $10
Non-Member = $20
Combo (includes $10 discount on UNA-NCA membership) = $30
Registration and Agenda details: www.iwp.edu/events/detail/beyond-crisis-management-in-the-middle-east
** An addition to the Agenda includes Mr. Mohammed Alaa Ghanem of the Syrian American Council and Research Fellow at the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies
Event Summary: The UN Crisis Information Management Strategy (CiMS) is based on the recognition that governments, the United Nations, International Financial Institutions, non-governmental organizations, business and media have significant experience in crisis response. Yet, no single agency, department or actor has the capacity or sole mandate to address or strategize these crises, as the situation around Syria shows. With UN-brokered peace talks on Syria starting up, it is vital that international actors and organizations facilitating this process work in a comprehensive and coordinated way that goes beyond crisis management to wider peace-building approaches. Efforts like the International Dialogue on Peace-building and State-building provide a Post 2015 framework to begin discussion in areas requiring socioeconomic development impacted by the massive movement of populations as a result of the Syrian refugee crisis. This refugee movement is also providing a haven for violent extremism, human trafficking and other destabilizing illicit activities. The UNA-NCA and its partners have put together an expert group of discussants to help gain understanding through regional and local actors, international responders including the U.S. perspective, and practitioners in both public and private realms to begin to formulate a more successful, strategic approach.
Goals for this roundtable discussion include:
Understanding the situation and approaches to mitigating the impacts of the Syrian conflict from the regional and local points of view.
Looking beyond conventional security responses to the crisis to peace-building and state-building approaches, including good practices and constraints to delivering effective assistance. These include a review of non-traditional and private sector investment initiatives.
Identifying gaps in current policy approaches and capacities among major regional and international actors and suggest an integrated strategy that establishes goals, commitments, and coordinating principles to guide national and international interventions in areas impacted by Syrian refugee migration.
Building Post-2015 Agenda related political momentum for change and trust between host countries of refugees, development partners, and civil society.