The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and
the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) present:
Obama's Multilateral Engagement: What Does It Mean for Democracy & Human Rights in the Middle East?
The Obama Administration has taken important steps to strengthen U.S. engagement with multilateral institutions, with an eye toward enhancing U.S. capacity to support human rights. As President Obama stated in his recent speech at West Point, "America has not succeeded by stepping out of the currents of cooperation - we have succeeded by steering those currents in the direction of liberty and justice." Among other steps, the administration has re-engaged with the UN Human Rights Council, resulting in some modest successes.
However, additional questions remain for this agenda of multilateral engagement: What are some of the challenges and opportunities ahead for the U.S. in the Human Rights Council? What can be done to re-energize slumbering institutions like the Forum for the Future, and the human rights organs of the Arab League and OIC? Can the U.S. find ways to engage with or support Euro-Mediterranean regional institutions with the goal of strengthening rights and democracy clauses?
Please join us as we reflect on these questions and the future of the Obama administration's multilateral engagement for reform in the region. The event will also mark the release of the POMED-FES study "For the Common Good - Revitalizing Multilateral Cooperation for Political Reform in the Middle East."
Please join us for a panel discussion with:
Bahey Eldin Hassan, General Director, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Neil Hicks, International Policy Advisor, Human Rights First
Heather Hurlburt, Executive Director, National Security Network
With special opening remarks by Suzanne Nossel,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Moderated by: Knut Panknin, Program Officer,
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
12:00-2:00 PM
SEIU Building
1800 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036
1st floor
Please RSVP by clicking here or by email to: rsvp@pomed.org
Lunch will be served at 12:00 PM.