Project on Middle East Democracy

Project on Middle East Democracy
The POMED Wire Archives


Category: Event Notes

POMED Notes: “Voicing Dissent: Inside the Fight for Democracy and Human Rights”

November 16th, 2010 by Evan

On Tuesday, the Foreign Policy Initiative hosted a panel discussion titled “Voicing Dissent: Inside the Fight for Democracy and Human Rights” as part of its “Restoring America’s Leadership of a Democratic World” conference. The Washington Post’s Jackson Diehl moderated a panel composed of Ambassador Michael Kozak, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Win Min, a Burmese activist, and Michele Dunne Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Editor of the Arab Reform Bulletin.

To read full notes, continue below or click here for a pdf copy.

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Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Human Rights | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Egypt’s Upcoming Elections: Boycotts, Campaigns, and Monitors”

October 20th, 2010 by Evan

On Tuesday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in partnership with Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) hosted a discussion on preparations by opposition parties and domestic electoral monitors for the upcoming Egyptian parliamentary elections. Mahmoud Ali Mohamed, the director of the Egyptian Center for Development and Democratic Studies and member of the Wafd Party Supreme Council, and Wael Nawara, the co-founder and secretary general of the al-Ghad Party, gave presentations, POMED executive director Andrew Albertson delivered a response and Michele Dunne, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment, moderated the event.

(For POMED’s full notes, continue below or click here for the pdf.)

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Posted in Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Events, Uncategorized | Comment »

POMED Notes: “The Conspicuously Absent Fourth ‘D’: Democracy”

August 3rd, 2010 by Farid

The Society for International Development - Washington Chapter held a panel discussion on Friday to consider democracy promotion under the current administration. Sarah Mendelson, Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID, Lorne Craner, President of the International Republican Institute, and Kenneth Wollack, President of the National Democratic Institute, participated in the panel. Malcolm Butler, Senior Vice President in Emerging Markets at Management Systems International, and SID-Washington Board Member, introduced the panelists and moderated the event.

(POMED’s full notes continue below, or view them as a pdf).

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Posted in Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Obama’s Multilateral Engagement- What Does It Mean for Democracy & Human Rights in the Middle East?”

July 1st, 2010 by Farid

Yesterday, POMED and FES held a panel discussion focusing on multilateral engagement in the quest for democracy and human rights in the Middle East. The discussion, moderated by Knut Panknin of FES, came at a timely and imperative moment as the G20 is in the midst of multilateral talks this week. The panel of experts included Neil Hicks, International Policy Advisor for Human Rights First; Heather Hurlburt, Executive Director of the National Security Network; Suzanne Nossel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at the Bureau of International Organization Affairs; and Radwan Ziadeh, Founding Director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies and Executive Director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Continue to read the full POMED Notes on the event below or read the entire version as a pdf.

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Posted in Event Notes, POMED | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Iraq’s Elections–and Iraq’s Future”

February 18th, 2010 by Maria

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq Ad Melkert gave a lecture at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace today assessing the conditions in Iraq ahead of its March elections, and what that can mean for its future.

Melkert, who was very optimistic for a successful Iraqi election, said that it is important that development in Iraq is known and to understand what the role of international community should be. He outlined three major points for his lecture: first, that it is necessary to acknowledge the need for ongoing engagement in Iraq; second, that this engagement should be respectful and with Iraqis “in the lead;” and third, that it is time to draw a line and understand the divisions that have marked so much of the debate on Iraq.

Click here for POMED’s notes in PDF. Otherwise, continue below the fold.

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Posted in Elections, Event Notes, Freedom, Iraq | Comment »

POMED Event: U.S. Military Assistance: Obstacle or Opportunity for Reform?

December 13th, 2009 by Zack

POMED and the Heinrich Boll Foundation hosted a panel discussion to discuss the role of U.S. military assistance in America’s attempt to maintain strategic interests without undermining democracy promotion and human rights. The event was the third in a series examining U.S. credibility on human rights and featured both Steven Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy, and Emile Hokayem, a non-resident Research Fellow with the Henry L. Stimson Center’s Southwest Asia/Gulf program and Politics Editor of the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National. The event was moderated by Sebastian Graefe, Program Director for Foreign and Security Policy and Transatlantic Issues at the Heinrich Boll Foundation. Grafe opened by clarifying the focus of the event by asking several pointed questions: does military assistance undermine U.S. credibility? Are existing mechanisms sufficient to monitor human rights abuses? Are the provisions that govern assistance in need of updating?

Follow the break to read POMED’s notes.

Or click here for a .pdf version

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Posted in Afghanistan, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Iraq, Jordan, Legislation, Mideast Peace Plan, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Pakistan, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »

POMED Notes - “Wrong Way on Iran: Representative Mark Kirk”

November 5th, 2009 by Zack

The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) to offer his views on how the U.S. should approach Iran on the issues of human rights and democracy.  Kirk is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and serves on its Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, which is responsible for determining annual U.S. foreign assistance funding.  Serving his fifth term in the House of Representatives, Kirk is the co-chair of the bipartisan Iran Working Group, sponsor of bipartisan legislation condemning Iran’s human rights violations and chief architect of the plan to restrict gasoline to Iran in response to its violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.  The meeting was opened with an introduction from Richard Solomon, President of USIP.

See POMED’s Notes below the fold.

Click here to view a pdf version of the notes.

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Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Reform, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »

POMED Notes - “Implications of the Promotion of Defamation of Religions”

October 29th, 2009 by Zack

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a meeting to discuss recent movements in the international community to create resolutions against the defamation of religion.  The event hosted Joseph Cassidy, Director of the Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs in the Bureau of Democracy; Leonard Leo, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Angela Wu, international director of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Tad Stahnke, director of Policy and Programs at Human Rights First; Zainab al-Suwaij, cofounder and president of the American Islamic Congress; and Felice Gaer, director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights of the American Jewish Committee.  Panelists focused on the recent U.S.-Egyptian draft resolution protecting the freedom of speech as well as other anti-religious defamation efforts in the international community.

For POMED’s full notes of the event, please click here.


Posted in Congressional Hearing Notes (House), DC Event Notes, EU, Event Notes, Freedom, Pakistan, Reform, US foreign policy, United Nations | Comment »

POMED Notes - “A Regional Overview of the Middle East”

October 29th, 2009 by Zack

The House Foreign Affairs Committee received testimony from Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. The committee questioned Feltman about U.S. policy and diplomatic efforts regarding Iran, Israel and Palestine, Lebanese government develop, Syrian relations, and other issues confronting American interests in the Middle East.

For POMED’s full notes of the event, please click here.


Posted in Afghanistan, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, EU, Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Hamas, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Israel, Lebanon, Legislation, Mideast Peace Plan, Multilateralism, North Africa, Political Islam, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Terrorism, US foreign policy, United Nations, sanctions | Comment »

POMED Notes: “The Afghan Elections: What Really Happened?”

September 15th, 2009 by Zack

The United States Institute of Peace hosted a roundtable event examining the recent Afghan elections and their future implications. The expert panel included Noah Coburn, a traditional justice specialist for USIP and presidential fellow, who spent 18 months researching local political structures north of Kabul; John Dempsey is the former USAID advisor to the Afghanistan Ministry of Justice and is currently a USIP head of office in Afghanistan and a rule of law advisor that has contributed to the new Rule of Law Strategy in Afghanistan. Palwasha Hassan serves as the Country Director for the NGO Rights and Democracy in Afghanistan, she has worked for than fifteen years in women’s development in the country and is currently a Jennings Randolph Fellow at USIP. The event was moderated by J. Alexander Their, director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at USIP, he has served as a rule of law advisor, was a member of the Afghanistan Study Group and has co-authored the book The Future of Afghanistan (USIP, 2009).

Click here to read POMED’s notes


Posted in Afghanistan, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Event Notes, Freedom, Military, Political Islam, Political Parties | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Assessing the Afghan Elections”

September 3rd, 2009 by Jason

On Tuesday morning, the Center for American Progress held a public panel discussion examining the recent Afghan presidential and provincial council elections. The panel speakers were Eric Bjornlund of Democracy International, Jackie Northam  of National Public Radio and Brian Katulis of the Center for American Progress. Caroline Wadhams of the Center for American Progress moderated.

The panelists discussed the prospects for legitimacy of the Afghan elections and how such a determination will affect U.S. policy in the country. For POMED’s detailed notes of the event, please click here.


Posted in Afghanistan, Elections, Event Notes, NGOs, Taliban, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Engaging on Human Rights in the Middle East”

September 2nd, 2009 by Daniel

POMED and the Heinrich Boell Foundation North America co-hosted a panel discussion yesterday, which focused on the ways in which multilateral frameworks work to promote or to inhibit human rights reforms in the Middle East. The three panelists were Moataz El-Fegiery, executive director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Marc Schade-Poulsen, executive director of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, and Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division. POMED’s Executive Director Andrew Albertson moderated.

The panelists discussed, among other topics, the techniques authoritarian regimes employ to undermine the effectiveness of multilateral organizations. For a detailed summary of the discussion, click here.


Posted in DC Event Notes, Event Notes, Human Rights, Multilateralism | 1 Comment »

POMED Notes: “A Briefing on Kuwait and Gulf Affairs”

August 27th, 2009 by Blake

The Middle East Institute hosted a lively discussion with Ambassador Deborah Jones, the current American ambassador in Kuwait.  As a major strategic partner to the United States, as well as a thriving indigenous democracy, Kuwait “punches above its weight,” she claimed.   

Click here to read POMED’s notes on this event.

 


Posted in Event Notes, Kuwait, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: The Afghan Elections at Heritage

August 27th, 2009 by Max

The Heritage Foundation held an event analyzing last week’s Afghan presidential and provincial council elections and the challenges facing both Afghanistan and the United States moving forward. Speaking at the event were Lt. Gen. (Ret.) David Barno of the National Defense University, Marvin Weinbaum of the Middle East Institute, analyst David Isby, and Heritage’s own Lisa Curtis. Senior  Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs James Phillips moderated.

To read POMED’s account of the discussion, click here.


Posted in Afghanistan, Elections, Event Notes | Comment »

POMED Notes: Assessing the Afghan Presidential Election

August 26th, 2009 by Blake

Yesterday, the Brookings Institution hosted the first public discussion in Washington since the Afghan elections with Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Michael O’Hanlon, Director of Research at Brookings Foreign Policy program, Kimberly Kagan, from the Institute for the Study of War and Anthony Cordesman from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, moderated by Brookings’ Martin Indyk.

Click here for POMED’s notes on the event.


Posted in Afghanistan, Elections, Event Notes, Military, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: Development in Pakistan

August 20th, 2009 by Blake

Yesterday the Middle East Institute hosted an event with Dr. Shamsh Kassin-Lakha, a veteran government and education policymaker and former President of the Aga Khan University, to discuss the growing participation of philanthropy, government and civil society in Pakistani development initiatives.

Click here to read POMED’s notes on the event.


Posted in Event Notes, Pakistan | Comment »

POMED Notes: A Conversation With Ambassador Holbrooke’s Interagency Team

August 12th, 2009 by Blake

One week before Afghanistan’s elections, the Center for American Progress hosted a discussion with the Afghanistan-Pakistan Interagency Team led by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Holbrooke unveiled his team’s Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy.  Moderator  John Podesta, Center of American Progress president, praised the multidisciplinary nature of Ambassador Holbrooke’s team that optimizes delivery of security and development assistance in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The discussion included Holbrooke’s Senior Advisors Vali Nasr, Rina Amiri, Jane Marriott and Barnett R. Rubin, Senior Treasury Advisor Rami Shy, USAID Senior Development Advisor Beth Dunford, USDA Senior Agricultural Advisor Otto J. Gonzalez, Special Advisor Ashley Bommer, and DOD Senior Defense Advisor Vikram Singh.

Click here for POMED’s notes on this event.


Posted in Afghanistan, Event Notes, Gulf, Iran, POMED, Palestine | Comment »

POMED Notes: Kurdish Elections & Implications for Iraq & the Region

August 7th, 2009 by Blake

Yesterday, Henri Barkey, Qubad Talabani and  Joost Hiltermann, participated in a discussion focused on the outcomes of July’s Kurdish elections in Iraq at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Click here to read POMED’s notes on this event.


Posted in Elections, Event Notes, Iraq, Kurds | Comment »

POMED Notes: Sheikh Dr. Khalid al-Atiya

August 7th, 2009 by Max

The United States Institute of Peace hosted Sheikh Dr. Khalid al-Atiya, First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi parliament. Al-Atiya made the case that many of the power-sharing structures in the Iraqi government are crippling legislation and governance. Rend al-Rahim and Daniel Serwer of USIP introduced al-Atiya and moderated the discussion, respectively.

Click here to read POMED’s notes on the event.


Posted in Event Notes, Iraq, Reform | Comment »