A surge in irregular migrants, asylum seekers, and fentanyl has put the US-Mexico border in the center of political debate and presidential campaigns in the United States, feeding a narrative that the border is somehow collapsing and that US national security is threatened. While those challenges are unquestionably real, there is a simultaneous reality that is completely absent from the current political and economic discussion: $1.5 million in goods produced in both countries cross the border every single minute—$2.2 billion every single day—supplying consumers and creating millions of jobs in the US and Mexico. Likewise, over a million legal border crossings, both south-to-north and north-to-south, also take place every day, contributing to the economy in the border region. The US-Mexico border is the busiest border on the planet.

This Lecture aims to put in perspective the political, economic, and social reality of the border; to discuss the challenges—and opportunities—both countries face; to consider what they are doing and have to do; and to reflect on the risks of misrepresenting the border for political gain.

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About the Speaker

Ambassador Juan José Gómez-Camacho is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, as well as a member of the teaching faculty of SAIS. Most recently he served as Ambassador of Mexico to Canada.

Prior to his current assignment he served as Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore and concurrently to the Union of Myanmar and the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam (2006-2009); Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the International Organizations based in Geneva, Switzerland (2009-2013); Ambassador to the European Union as well as to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2013-2016); and Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (2016-2019).

He is regarded as one of the most influential experienced Mexican diplomats, and is widely recognized for his strong leadership and for his analytical and negotiation skills. During his 30-year diplomatic career, he has played a key role in addressing and providing solutions to diverse and increasingly complex global challenges, both political and economic, for which government-centered-only alternatives are proving insufficient. Some of his major achievements include the conclusion of breakthrough international agreements on emerging global health challenges; the adoption of the first ever Global Deal on International Migration; the successful negotiation of the framework of the New Trade Agreement between Mexico and the European Union. Other important accomplishments include the negotiation and development of significant US-Mexico border infrastructures; and the design and implementation of the present Mexican foreign policy and legislation on Human Rights and Democracy.

He is highly recognized for his thorough understanding of North American relations, as well as North American–European Union relations, Latin America and Southeast Asia, on a multi-stakeholder basis.

He is a compelling communicator, including in the media, and is frequently invited as speaker in international conferences and events on diverse subjects. A Spanish mother tongue, he speaks English and French fluently.

Join the SAIS Review for the final launch event of the year! Professor Gavin Wilde of SAIS and the Carnegie Endowment and Taylor Grossman of the Institute for Security and Technology will be discussing the future of cyberspace in warfare through the lens of Western aid to Ukraine.

With remarks by James Steinberg, Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS.

Supported by the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute.

RSVP on Eventbrite to attend in person (Room B244):

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Or you can watch our livestream on YouTube, no registration required:

https://youtube.com/live/gM9sS1e9Ydg

Join the North Africa Initiative of Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University for a conversation with former Special Envoy for Sudan Ambassador Donald Booth, Dr. Nada Fadul, Vice Chair of the Sudanese American Public Affairs Association (SAPAA) and President of Sustainable Development Response Organization (SuDRO), and Fadi Abilmona, Regional Advisor for Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, and Yemen at the United Nations Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Arab State to mark the passing of one year of the civil war in Sudan. Our guests and experts will explore prospects for a successful democratic transition, the future role of the military, the ongoing humanitarian crisis and aid delivery, and long-term solutions for displacement. The conversation will be moderated by FPI Senior Fellow and Executive Director of NAI, Hafed Al-Ghwell.

Lunch provided.

Register via Eventbrite to attend in person,

Or you can watch our livestream on YouTube, no registration required

About the Speakers

Ambassador (Ret) Donald E. Booth

Donald E. Booth, a former member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, served as U.S. Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan from August 2013 until January 2017, during which he helped negotiate the 2015 Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan and secured changes in Sudanese policy that resulted in the lifting of bilateral sanctions in 2017. He was recalled as Special Envoy for Sudan in 2019 and helped facilitate international support for Sudan’s transitional government, Sudan’s removal from the U.S.’ “State Sponsor of Terrorism” list and conclusion of a peace agreement with armed groups from Darfur and other marginalized areas of Sudan. He retired in August 2021. Ambassador (Ret) Booth also previously served as Ambassador of the United States of America to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 2010-2013, Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia from 2008-2010 and Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia from 2005-2008. Prior to that, he was Director of the Office of Technical and Specialized Agencies at the Department of State's Bureau of International Organization Affairs where he negotiated international agreements and U.S. re-entry into UNESCO. He also served as Director of the Office of West African Affairs, Deputy Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs, and Division Chief for Bilateral Trade Affairs at the Department of State. He served as a desk officer in the Office of Egyptian Affairs and as Sudan and Uganda desk officer in the Office of East African Affairs. His State Department career also included postings as economic counselor in Greece (1996-98) and Romania (1989-91) and at embassies in Belgium, Liberia and Gabon.

Ambassador (Ret) Booth earned a bachelor's degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, a master's degree in Business Administration from Boston University and a master's degree in National Security Studies from the National War College where he was a Distinguished Graduate.

Ambassador (Ret) Booth was an advisor to the Carter Center’s Sudan and U.S.-China-Africa Cooperation programs (2018-19). He was also a Carter Center volunteer election observer for the August 2017 Kenyan election. Ambassador (Ret) Booth is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and Diplomats Without Borders. Since August 2022, has been co-chair of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s “Sudans Working Group.” He has lectured periodically to university classes and volunteers regularly with Habitat for Humanity and Re-Building Together in northern Virginia.

Dr. Nada Fadul

Nada Fadul is a Professor of Medicine at the Division of Infectious Diseases and Assistant Dean for DEI Education Programs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). She is the Medical Director of the UNMC’s Specialty Care Center (UNMC SCC) HIV Program and the Principal Investigator of the Ryan White Parts C&D grants. Dr. Fadul is the founder and President of the Sustainable Development Response Organization and founded the Sudan ECHO Center of Excellence. She currently serves as the Chair of the Awards Committee and a Board of Director for the HIV Medical Association. She is also a member of the Quality Improvement Committee of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and serves as an IDSA advocacy liaison where she meets with policymakers to advocate for HIV care and prevention. Dr. Fadul's research focuses on implementation science driven approaches to HIV care and health services research focusing on HIV disparities. She has received federal and private grant funding, published in peer-reviewed journals, presented her research at national and international conference, and mentored dozens of students and trainees. She is active in global health and currently runs the UNMC Sudan ECHO Global Hub, a telementorship platform which disseminates knowledge to healthcare professionals in underserved regions. Dr. Fadul’s local and global work emphasizes community engagement, cultural sensitivity, and health equity. She is active in advocacy for humanitarian issues facing Sudan and volunteers at several local and national community and professional organizations; She enjoys writing Arabic poetry, reading, and traveling with her family.

Fadi Abilmona

Fadi Abilmona is a Regional Advisor for Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, at the Regional Bureau for Arab States, United Nations Development Programme.

Hafed Al-Ghwell, Moderator

Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute (FPI).

Prior to his current role at the Foreign Policy Institute, Hafed Al-Ghwell has had a long, notable career serving in multiple distinct roles as a consultant, advisor, fellow and scholar in world-renowned think tanks, policy institutes and advisory bodies. At the Atlantic Council, Oxford Analytica, Maxwell Stamp Inc. and Foreign Reports, to list a few, Hafed Al-Ghwell specialized in the political economies of the Middle East and North Africa countries, government affairs, international relations, geopolitics and geostrategic risks. This wealth and breadth of experience dates back to his early days at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the 1980s, followed by a career spanning nearly two decades at the World Bank where he took on multiple roles in senior leadership and ultimately as an Advisor to the Dean of the Board of Executive Directors until the end of 2015. He was also a Director of External Affairs and Communication, and part of the senior management team at the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government—in partnership with Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government until 2009.

Aside from being a featured Arab voice in the Washington, D.C., policy and consultancy circuit, Hafed Al-Ghwell is also a veteran commentator and widely published columnist. His perspectives and analyses are published and televised in several languages across a wide spectrum of international media, notably the Wall Street Journal, BBC, Financial Times and Arab News, the oldest English language daily in the Arab world.

Hafed Al-Ghwell is an alumnus of George Washington University, Harvard University and Stanford University. He is also a recipient of numerous accreditations from the World Bank Group's management executive programs, focusing on public policy and global economic development.

The SAIS GPS Focus Area and the Foreign Policy Institute invite you to A Fireside Chat with Beth Van Schaack, US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, a conversation with Professor Jeffrey Pryce (JHU SAIS), former Counselor, OSD.

Ensuring accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression has emerged as a critical issue in crises like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ambassador Van Schaack, who leads the United States efforts in international criminal justice, will engage on US efforts to ensure accountability in Ukraine, Africa, and Central America.

Date and Time

Monday, April 22, 2024 · 3:00-4:30pm

Location

JHU Bloomberg Center - Room 440

555 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, DC 20001

Please RSVP: https://GPS-ChatwithVanSchaack.eventbrite.com

About the Speakers

Dr. Beth Van Schaack was sworn in as the Department’s sixth Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice (GCJ) on March 17, 2022. In this role, she advises the Secretary of State and other Department leadership on issues related to the prevention of and response to atrocity crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Ambassador Van Schaack served as Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large in GCJ from 2012 to 2013. Prior to returning to public service in 2022, Ambassador Van Schaack was the Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor in Human Rights at Stanford Law School, where she taught international criminal law, human rights, human trafficking, and a policy lab on Legal & Policy Tools for Preventing Atrocities. In addition, she directed Stanford’s International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic. Ambassador Van Schaack began her academic career at Santa Clara University School of Law, where, in addition to teaching and writing on international human rights issues, she served as the Academic Adviser to the United States interagency delegation to the International Criminal Court Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda. Earlier in her career, she was a practicing lawyer at Morrison & Foerster, LLP; the Center for Justice & Accountability, a human rights law firm; and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

Ambassador Van Schaack has published numerous articles and papers on international human rights and justice issues, including her 2020 thesis, Imagining Justice for Syria (Oxford University Press). From 2014 to 2022, she served as Executive Editor for Just Security, an online forum for the analysis of national security, foreign policy, and rights. She is a graduate of Stanford (BA), Yale (JD) and Leiden (PhD) Universities.

Jeffrey Pryce is Professorial Lecturer of the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he focuses on international security and international law. He teaches International Crises and International Law, and previously taught a seminar on the role of international tribunals in dispute resolution. He is also a practicing international lawyer, and has successfully represented clients in major investment treaty, international commercial arbitration and multijurisdictional litigation cases. He previously served in the Department of Defense as Special Counsel for International Affairs, then as Counselor to the Undersecretary for Policy. He was particularly engaged in policy toward and response to crises involving Bosnia, Russia, NATO, Iraq, Haiti, and North Korea. He negotiated nuclear disarmament agreements with Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. He also served as delegation leader or senior DoD representative to significant multilateral negotiations impacting international security. He began his career working for 5 years in the offices of Sen. Kennedy and Congressman Markey on issues of nuclear arms control, defense, regional armed conflicts and human rights. He received a BA in Philosophy from Wesleyan; an M.Phil in International Relations from Cambridge, where he was the founder and first Editor-in-Chief of the CAMBRIDGE REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS; and a JD from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. He served as a two-year law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Byron White. Among other outlets, his commentary has appeared on NPR; VOA Television; ABC News; and Univisión Radio (in English and Spanish). He has served on the Board of Directors of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs and the Cambridge Society of Washington DC.

About this event

Join the Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University for a conversation with the new President of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB) Nadia Calviño. President Calviño will discuss her vision and strategic priorities for the EIB, ways of increasing social investments across the European Union (EU), and the importance of coordination within a multilateral framework.

On the occasion of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, the event will highlight the EIB's pivotal role in advancing the EU’s climate goals and supporting Ukraine's reconstruction efforts amidst broader geopolitical challenges. The conversation will be moderated by FPI Senior Fellow John Lipsky who served as First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF from 2006 to 2011.

To attend in person, please register via Eventbrite.

About the Speakers

Nadia Calviño is the President of the European Investment Bank Group, and a Spanish economist and lawyer with a 30+ year career in public policy, economics, and finance. Ms. Calviño served as First Vice-President of Spain and Minister of Economy, Trade, and Enterprise until December 2023. Prior to that role, she held various positions, including Second Vice-President and Minister for Economy and Digitalization (March-July 2021), Third Vice-President and Minister for Economy and Digitalization (2020-2021), and Minister for Economy and Business (2018-2020). Additionally, she chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the International Monetary Fund from 2022 to 2023. Before joining the Spanish government, Ms. Calviño worked for 12 years at the European Commission, first as Deputy Director General for Competition and Financial Services, and later as Director General responsible for the EU Budget. Her earlier career in Spain encompassed different roles as a civil servant at the Ministry for Economy, focusing on areas such as macroeconomic analysis, economic policy, foreign trade and competition law. Ms. Calviño holds a degree in economics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and a degree in law from the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia.

John Lipsky is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced international Studies (SAIS), and is the Chair of the Hopkins Nanjing Council. Before joining SAIS, he served as First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund from 2006-2011. Previously, he served as Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Investment Bank, Chief Economist of JPMorgan Chase, Chief Economist and Director of Research of Chase Manhattan Bank, and Chief Economist of Salomon Brothers. Currently, Lipsky is Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute's Program on the World Economy, and is the Executive Committee Vice-Chair of the Center for Global Development. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research, on the Advisory Board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), and as a Director of the American Council on Germany and of the Krymov Foundation. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Lipsky received his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

Now, more than ever, we need policies based on evidence. Our universities are replete with scholars conducting in-depth dispassionate research. Yet too often the research never reaches policy makers. How do we bridge this gap? Dame Louise Richardson explores the barriers between scholarship and policy makers and suggests ways to remove those barriers and improve the quality of public policy.

A conversation with Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Senior Fellow at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute.

With introductory remarks by James Steinberg, Dean of John Hopkins SAIS.

RSVP on Eventbrite to attend in person or watch our livestream on YouTube, no registration required.

About the Speakers

Dame Louise Richardson DBE

Dame Louise Richardson DBE is president of Carnegie Corporation of New York, the philanthropic foundation established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911. Previously, she served as vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford and of the University of St. Andrews, and as executive dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

A native of Ireland, she studied history in Trinity College Dublin before gaining her PhD at Harvard University, where she spent 20 years on the faculty of the Department of Government, teaching courses on international security and foreign policy. She currently sits on numerous advisory boards, while serving as a trustee of, among others, the Booker Prize Foundation and the Sutton Trust. Richardson is also a member of the selection committee of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. In 2023, the Irish government asked Richardson to serve as the independent chair of its Consultative Forum on International Security Policy.

A political scientist by training, Richardson is recognized internationally as an expert on terrorism and counterterrorism. Today considered a seminal work in the field, her groundbreaking study, What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat (2006), was hailed by the New York Times Book Review as an “overdue and essential primer on terrorism and how to tackle it … the book many have been waiting for.” Other publications include Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past (2007), The Roots of Terrorism (2006), and When Allies Differ: Anglo-American Relations during the Suez and Falklands Crises (1996). She has written numerous articles on international terrorism, British foreign and defense policy, security institutions, and international relations; lectured to public, professional, media, and education groups; and served on editorial boards for several journals and presses.

Richardson’s many awards have recognized the excellence of her teaching and scholarship, including the Centennial Medal bestowed on her in 2013 by Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for “having the vision to assess emerging threats, for transformative leadership, and for moving seamlessly between the roles of scholar and teacher.” She has been awarded ten honorary doctorates, including from the universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews in Scotland; Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast in Ireland; the University of Notre Dame in the U.S.; the University of the West Indies; Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel; the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in Russia, and Université Grenoble Alpes in France. Richardson is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Academy of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom, as well as an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy and a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

In June 2022, Richardson was appointed a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her services to higher education.

Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli

Dr. Shirin Tahir-Kheli is a Senior Fellow and Founding Director of the South Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She was Research Professor of International Relations. In 2011, Tahir-Kheli was named by Newsweek as one of the "150 Women Who Shake the World." She specializes in South Asia, nuclear non-proliferation, United Nations and U.S. foreign policy, and women's empowerment.

From 2003 to 2005, she served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights and International Operations at the National Security Council. She proposed and coordinated the building of the Children's Hospital for treatment of Cancer in Basra, Iraq from 2004 to 2009. From 2004 to 2006, she served as the key U.S. official in the formulation of U.S. policy toward United Nations reform. She oversaw the diplomatic effort to press for critical changes in the UN system from her position as Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs at the National Security Council and later as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State for UN Reform.

Shirin Tahir-Kheli was appointed by Secretary Condoleezza Rice as her Senior Advisor for Women’s Empowerment in 2006. There, she established the first ever office focused on integrating Women's Empowerment into U.S. foreign policy. She set up and oversaw the work of the Women Leaders' Working Group, comprising 60 female heads of state, foreign ministers, political leaders, attorney generals and speakers of parliaments, focused on political participation, education, economic empowerment and justice. Tahir-Kheli spearheaded the State Department initiative for "Women's Justice" at the Department of State in 2008, through which judges from around the world worked on measures to alleviate the severity of violence against women and women's lack of access to justice, which continues.

Earlier, during her service in the United States government, Tahir-Kheli served as Head of the United States delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in 2001;, Alternate United States Representative to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs (1990–1993), a post that carries the rank of Ambassador, Member of the United States Presidential Commission on the Public Service (1992–1993), Director of Near East and South Asian Affairs (1986-1989) and Director of Political Military Affairs (1984–1986) at the National Security Council. She joined the Reagan Administration in 1982 as Member, Policy Planning Staff in the Office of the Secretary of State.

Ambassador Tahir-Kheli has dedicated her efforts to finding areas of agreement between India and Pakistan that could change their relationship to one of productive peace. Toward that end, she has been chair of the BALUSA Group comprising senior Indian, Pakistani, and U.S. participants that is geared to influencing policy toward cooperation.

She is the author and editor of several monographs, including: "Before the Age of Prejudice: A Muslim Woman’s National Security Work with Three American Presidents, A Memoir," (Macmillan, 2018); "Pakistan Today: The Case for U.S.-Pakistan Relations" (with Shahid Javed Burki, Foreign Policy Institute, 2017); "Manipulating Religion for Political Gain in Pakistan: Consequences for the U.S. and the Region" (Foreign Policy Institute, 2015); and "India, Pakistan and the United States: Breaking with the Past" (Council on Foreign Relations, 1997).

Tahir-Kheli has a B. A. From Ohio Wesleyan University and an M.A. and Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dean James Steinberg

The Honorable James B. Steinberg is University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs and Law at Syracuse University, where he was Dean of the Maxwell School from July 2011 until June 2016. Prior to becoming Dean he served as Deputy Secretary of State, the principal deputy to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, from 2009-2011. From 2005-2008, Steinberg was Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Steinberg was vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution.

Mr. Steinberg was deputy national security advisor to President Clinton from 1996 to 2000. During that period he also served as the president’s personal representative to the 1998 and 1999 G-8 summits. Prior to becoming deputy national security advisor, Mr. Steinberg held positions as director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Analysis in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He is the recipient of the Joseph J. Kruzel Memorial Award, American Political Science Association (2014), the CIA Director’s Medal (2011) and the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award (2011).

 Steinberg’s most recent books are A Glass Half Full? Rebalance, Reassurance and Resolve and Strategic Reassurance and Resolve: US-China Relations in the 21st Century (both with Michael O’Hanlon). Recent book chapters include “Present at the Recreation: The Role of the State Department in Formulating and Implementing US Global Policy” in Nicholas Burns and Jonathan Price, eds., America’s National Security Architecture (Aspen Institute, 2016); “United States: Grappling with Rising Powers” in William I. Hitchcock, Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro, eds., Shaper Nations: Strategies for a Changing World (Harvard University Press, 2016) and “History, Policymaking, and the Balkans: Lessons Imported and Lessons Learned” in Hal Brands and Jeremi Suri, eds., The Power of the Past, History and Statecraft, (Brookings Institution Press, 2015). He has also authored Difficult Transitions: Foreign Policy Troubles at the Outset of Presidential Power (Brookings 2008) with Kurt Campbell.

Mr. Steinberg received his A.B from Harvard College and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He is married to Sherburne Abbott, University Professor at Syracuse University. They have two children, Jenna and Emma Steinberg.

The North Africa Initiative (NAI) at Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) are honored to host a panel of experts to discuss the institutionalization of peace in North Africa. The event would include speakers from Congress, the UN, and NGOs to discuss and evaluate solutions to policy that sustain peace. The solutions identified would be translated into a report to be submitted to the United Nations to further aid in peace obtaining efforts in the North African Region.　

Lunch will be provided.

Register on Eventbrite for in-person attendance.

Panelists:

The Honorable Ben Cardin, Senator from Maryland

Giordano Segneri, Governance and Peacebuilding Team Leader for Arab States, UNDP

Evan Patterson, Staff Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN)

Regan Durkin, Director of HWPL Washington, D.C.

Hafed Al-Ghwell (Moderator), Executive Director of the North Africa Initiative (NAI) and Senior Fellow at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute (FPI).

Join the SAIS Review of International Affairs in the launch its Summer-Fall 2023 journal: “Water Wars: Conflict and Diplomacy” on February 29. The event is sponsored by the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute North Africa Initiative.

Register on Eventbrite to attend in person. Follow the livestream on Youtube (no registration required.)

Featured Panelists

David Michel - Senior Fellow for Water Security with the Global Food and Water Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Luke Wilson - Co-founder and Deputy Director of the Center for Water Security and Cooperation at George Washington University

Areig Elhag (Moderator) - Journalist and TV presenter at the Middle East Broadcasting Networks

Join the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) in a conversation with alumnus Jasmin Cesko about his experience fleeing Bosnia in 1995. Hear Jasmin tell his story along with his SAIS Professor, Edward P. Joseph, who coordinated the evacuation of Zepa as a UN official during the fateful days in July 1995.

To attend in person, please register via Eventbrite or watch on YouTube with this link.

About the Speakers

Jasmin Cesko was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and raised in the eastern Bosnian town of Zepa, surviving war and genocide in his early childhood years. Arriving in the United States at the age of 10, Jasmin, his parents, and two younger siblings made New Hampshire home where they contributed to establishing the Association of Bosniaks of New Hampshire (ABNH). He later graduated with a bachelor’s in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s in International Relations and European and Eurasian Studies from SAIS.

He now works as the Policy Lead in the Office of Policy and Program Analysis at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, DC and is a passionate humanitarian. Jasmin has focused his career to advance innovative solutions to help protect people and infrastructure from the impacts of climate change and to advocate for the most vulnerable communities. He has deployed to the field in multiple disaster areas across the United States to coordinate and deliver aid.

Jasmin’s professional career is complimentary to his community leadership role as the co-founder of the American-Bosnian Coalition, an organization dedicated to building a network of Bosnian-American communities and strengthening ties between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He is married and resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, Amina and six-month old son, Halil.

Edward P. Joseph is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute and Adjunct Lecturer at SAIS, specializing in Conflict Management. During the wars in former Yugoslavia, Edward served on the ground in each conflict-afflicted country: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and then-Macedonia.

During his war-time service in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in July 1995, Edward and one other UN Civil Affairs Officer were sent to Zepa to coordinate the evacuation of the women, children and wounded. This took place contemporaneous with the genocide in nearby Srebrenica. Edward testified as a fact witness in two Hague Tribunal cases.

Edward has authored dozens of articles and reports on the region, including in SAIS Review. His June, 2023 Foreign Policy article, ‘The United States is Creating a Kosovo Crisis’ described the overlooked obstacle to establishing autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. Edward was the lead author on the January, 2021 SAIS-Wilson Center report explaining how the European non-recognizers (of Kosovo) stymie the entire region, and setting out a corrective strategy.

Edward has led and currently serves on the Board of the National Council on US-Libya Relations. Edward earned his J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law, and his B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and its School of Advanced International Studies.

Why is it – after decades of anti-corruption programs and pressure for reforms – that corruption, apparently, remains such a feature in the Macedonian system? Join the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute on February 2 in a conversation with Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister for Good Governance Slavica Grkovska. FPI Senior Fellow Edward P. Joseph, who authored a major report on corruption in North Macedonia, will moderate this important conversation.

Register on Eventbrite or follow the livestream on Zoom.

About the Speakers

Slavica Grkovska was born on July 27th, 1970, in Skopje. She graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje and later she obtained the title Master of Science in Mathematics.

In the period 1995-2002 she worked as junior assistant in mathematics at the Institute of Mathematics within the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Afterwards, 2002-2011 she was Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia.

During her term as an MP, she was president of the Commission on Education, Science and Sports, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and deputy member of the Committee on European Affairs. Furthermore, she was deputy president of the Joint Parliamentary Committee in the EU-Republic of Macedonia.

In the period 2013-2014 she worked as chief administrative director additionally responsible for human resources and legal affairs in the company for information technologies “EIN-SOF LLC”.

As of March 2015, Grkovska worked as human resources management in the IT company “VOX Teneo Macedonia DOO”. In the period 2008-2021 she was appointed head of the human resources department for Belgium, Indonesia, and North Macedonia within the same company.

In the period between May 2021 until her appointment as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of good governance policies in the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, she was the chief systemic analyst in the Sector for Information Technology, department of informatics and telecommunications in the Ministry of the Interior.

Edward P. Joseph is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute and Adjunct Lecturer at SAIS, specializing in Conflict Management. During the wars in former Yugoslavia, Edward served on the ground in each conflict-afflicted country: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and then-Macedonia.

In May, 2012, as the US-nominated, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Edward negotiated a breakthrough agreement between Belgrade and Pristina to hold Serbian national elections in Kosovo, averting a crisis and creating a novel precedent that lasted a decade.

Edward has authored dozens of articles and reports on the region, including in SAIS Review. His June, 2023 Foreign Policy article, ‘The United States is Creating a Kosovo Crisis’ described the overlooked obstacle to establishing autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. Edward was the lead author on the January, 2021 SAIS-Wilson Center report explaining how the European non-recognizers (of Kosovo) stymie the entire region, and setting out a corrective strategy.

Edward has led and currently serves on the Board of the National Council on US-Libya Relations. Edward earned his J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law, and his B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and its School of Advanced International Studies.

The Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is honored to host Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar and Advisor to Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, on “Qatar: A Strong Mediator and its Strategic Role in the Middle East”.

Qatar has ascended to a remarkable position within the turbulent geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. Endowed with vast natural gas reserves, the once desert nation has leveraged its newfound wealth to establish itself as a crucial actor in regional affairs.

Qatar's strategic deployment of resources has transcended mere economic influence, propelling it towards a distinctive role as a mediator in seemingly intractable conflicts. From facilitating dialogue between disparate factions in a war-torn land to brokering fragile truces amongst historical adversaries, Qatar's adept diplomatic maneuvering has earned it both plaudits and scrutiny.

Join FPI Senior Fellow and Executive Director of the North Africa Initiative Hafed Al-Ghwell as he engages Dr. Al-Ansari in an insightful conversation on Qatar's strategic maneuvers amidst regional discord, its balancing act between diverse alliances, and its pivotal role as a bridge between Washington and the region.

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About the Speakers

Dr. Majed Mohammad Hassan Abdullah Al-Ansari, Advisor to H.E. Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar.

Dr. Al-Ansari worked previously as Director of Qatar International Academy for Security Studies (QIASS) and Director of Policy Department at the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) of Qatar University (QU). During his work at the university, he also served as an assistant professor at QU’s Department of International Affairs. Al-Ansari started his career as a researcher in international relations at the office of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2005. He also took on various roles in multiple civil society institutions. He wrote regularly in Al Sharq and Al Arab national Newspapers between 2006 and 2022. Dr. Al-Ansari serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic Studies at Qatar Armed Forces and is a member of the Advisory Board of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

Dr. Al-Ansari obtained his MA and Ph.D. degrees in the social change from the Cathy Marsh Institute at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and a BA in Political Science from Leeds University in the United Kingdom, and contributed to many edited academic books such as the book "Contemporary Qatar" published by the Center for Studies in The Gulf and Springer House, and the book “The Countries of the Arab Gulf” published by the Arab Center for Research. He also published many papers in academic journals such as the Journal of Balkans and Near Eastern Studies, in addition to numerous press articles and media posts.

Hafed Al-Ghwell (Moderator), Senior Fellow at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute (FPI).

Prior to his current role at the Foreign Policy Institute, Hafed Al-Ghwell has had a long, notable career serving in multiple distinct roles as a consultant, advisor, fellow and scholar in world-renowned think tanks, policy institutes and advisory bodies. At the Atlantic Council, Oxford Analytica, Maxwell Stamp Inc. and Foreign Reports, to list a few, Hafed Al-Ghwell specialized in the political economies of the Middle East and North Africa countries, government affairs, international relations, geopolitics and geostrategic risks. This wealth and breadth of experience dates back to his early days at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the 1980s, followed by a career spanning nearly two decades at the World Bank where he took on multiple roles in senior leadership and ultimately as an Advisor to the Dean of the Board of Executive Directors until the end of 2015. He was also a Director of External Affairs and Communication, and part of the senior management team at the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government—in partnership with Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government until 2009.

Aside from being a featured Arab voice in the Washington, D.C., policy and consultancy circuit, Hafed Al-Ghwell is also a veteran commentator and widely published columnist. His perspectives and analyses are published and televised in several languages across a wide spectrum of international media, notably the Wall Street Journal, BBC, Financial Times and Arab News, the oldest English language daily in the Arab world.

Hafed Al-Ghwell is an alumnus of George Washington University, Harvard University and Stanford University. He is also a recipient of numerous accreditations from the World Bank Group's management executive programs, focusing on public policy and global economic development.

Sponsored by the SAIS Dean’s Office, Governance, Politics and Society focus area, and the Foreign Policy Institute (FPI), join a series of conversations commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The event will feature a keynote address by Dr. Navi Pillay, Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Register on Eventbrite. Virtual: The program will be streamed via Zoom. Register here to participate virtually.

The program agenda is as follows:

9:30 Welcome & Introduction of Dr. Navanethem Pillay

Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs Chiedo Nwankwor, SAIS

9:40 Keynote Address

Dr. Navanethem Pillay, Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

“How can the United Nations, its human rights mechanisms, and all of us as individuals, help advance the realization of human rights.”

Q&A moderated by Nina Gardner, Adjunct Professor, SAIS; Director, Strategy International

 10:30 Reflections on the Future: Substantive Issues

Moderator: Marcos Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights

Workers’ Rights: Right to a Safe Work Environment, Eradication of Modern-day Slavery (including the right of just transition)

Kevin Cassidy, former Director and Representative to the Bretton Woods and Multilateral Organizations for the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for the United States

 Gender and the Illiberal Reframing of Human Rights

Susanna Mancini, Adjunct Professor, SAIS Europe; Professor of Law, University of Bologna

Human Rights and Business: Next Steps in Corporate Accountability

Nina Gardner, Adjunct Professor, SAIS; Director, Strategy International

Human Rights, Rights of Nature & Environmental Justice

Daniel Magraw, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute, SAIS; President Emeritus, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Moderated Q&A

12:00 Concluding Remarks

Professor Obiora Okafor, Edward Burling Chair in International Law, SAIS DC, Former UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity.

As has happened already in 2000 and 2012—and many other times in the last century—in 2024 both Mexico and the US will hold elections in the same year (in June and November), and the new administrations will begin almost simultaneously. Join the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute in a conversation with Amb. Juan José Gómez-Camacho on the impacts of Mexico and the United States’ 2024 elections on the two countries’ relations.

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Biography

Ambassador Juan José Gómez-Camacho is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, as well as a member of the teaching faculty of SAIS. Most recently he served as Ambassador of Mexico to Canada.

Prior to his current assignment he served as Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore and concurrently to the Union of Myanmar and the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam (2006-2009); Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the International Organizations based in Geneva, Switzerland (2009-2013); Ambassador to the European Union as well as to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2013-2016); and Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (2016-2019).

He is regarded as one of the most influential experienced Mexican diplomats, and is widely recognized for his strong leadership and for his analytical and negotiation skills. During his 30-year diplomatic career, he has played a key role in addressing and providing solutions to diverse and increasingly complex global challenges, both political and economic, for which government-centered-only alternatives are proving insufficient. Some of his major achievements include the conclusion of breakthrough international agreements on emerging global health challenges; the adoption of the first ever Global Deal on International Migration; the successful negotiation of the framework of the New Trade Agreement between Mexico and the European Union. Other important accomplishments include the negotiation and development of significant US-Mexico border infrastructures; and the design and implementation of the present Mexican foreign policy and legislation on Human Rights and Democracy.

He is highly recognized for his thorough understanding of North American relations, as well as North American–European Union relations, Latin America and Southeast Asia, on a multi-stakeholder basis.

On 24 September, a stunning, fatal confrontation took place in Banjska, Kosovo between heavily armed Serb assailants and Kosovo police. The White House expressed alarm as Serbian forces later moved towards the border with Kosovo.

To illuminate the tenuous situation – and how the parties got here – the Foreign Policy Institute is very pleased to bring Kosovo former Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti to SAIS. In conversation with FPI Senior Fellow Edward P. Joseph, Dr. Hoti – still a leading voice in Kosovo’s Parliament – will reflect on the dozen years of EU-led Dialogue, and share his vision for achieving a final settlement between Serbia and Kosovo through mutual recognition.

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Biographies

Avdullah Hoti is a Professor of Economics at the University of Prishtina. He teaches macroeconomics, labor and migration economics. He has served as member of several professional and academic councils at home and abroad and has published a number of research papers on labor, migration, and human capital.

Professor Hoti has had a long political career. Since 2006, he has served in various government positions at local and central level in Kosovo, including the Deputy Mayor of the Capital City, Minister of Finance, First Deputy Prime Minister, and Prime Minister. He has been elected member of Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo in each election since 2014. He now serves as Member of Parliament from the Democratic League of Kosovo, a center right party that is member of the European People's Party, which is the largest political group in the European Parliament. He is married and has two sons, Ledion and Antian.

MP Dritan Selmanaj will join former Prime Minister Hoti. MP Selmanaj has held important positions in: government, as Deputy Prime Minister; and in Parliament: as Chairman of the Committee for Oversight of Public Finances, and the Committee on Legislation and Rules of Procedure. He also oversaw the Anti-Corruption Agency.

Edward P. Joseph is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute and Adjunct Lecturer at SAIS, specializing in Conflict Management. During the wars in former Yugoslavia, Edward served on the ground in each conflict-afflicted country: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and then-Macedonia.

In May, 2012, as the US-nominated, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Edward negotiated a breakthrough agreement between Belgrade and Pristina to hold Serbian national elections in Kosovo, averting a crisis and creating a novel precedent that lasted a decade.

Join the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in a conversation with FPI Senior Fellow Amb. Shirin Tahir-Kheli and Prime Minister Helen Clark. PM Clark will engage on various aspects of her work in politics, defense, sustainable development, and global health. James Steinberg, Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS, will delivery introductory remarks.

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Biographies

Rt Hon. Helen Clark was Prime Minister of New Zealand for three successive terms from 1999–2008. Throughout her tenure as Prime Minister and as a Member of Parliament over 27 years, Helen Clark engaged widely in policy development and advocacy across the international, economic, social, environmental, and cultural spheres.

In April 2009, Helen Clark became Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She was the first woman to lead the organization, and served two terms there. At the same time, she was also Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of all UN funds, programs, agencies, and departments working on development issues. As Administrator, she led UNDP to be ranked the most transparent global development organization. She completed her tenure in 2017.

Helen continues to be a strong voice for sustainable development, climate action, gender equality and women’s leadership, peace and justice, and action on pressing global health issues. In July 2020, she was appointed by the Director-General of the World Health Organization as a Co-Chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, called for by the World Health Assembly, which reported in May 2021. She chairs the boards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, and other public good organizations and initiatives, and is a board member of others.

Amb. Shirin Tahir-Kheli is a Senior Fellow and Founding Director of the South Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She was Research Professor of International Relations. In 2011, Tahir-Kheli was named by Newsweek as one of the "150 Women Who Shake the World." She specializes in South Asia, nuclear non-proliferation, United Nations and U.S. foreign policy, and women's empowerment.

Hon. James B. Steinberg is Chairmain of SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and Dean of SAIS. He was University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs and Law at Syracuse University, where he was Dean of the Maxwell School from July 2011 until June 2016. Prior to becoming Dean he served as Deputy Secretary of State, the principal deputy to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, from 2009-2011. From 2005-2008, Steinberg was Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Steinberg was vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution.

As the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) approaches its 50th anniversary, its institutional survival will be impacted by its success or failure in bringing a just end to the Russian war in Ukraine. Join the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) on Monday, November 6 for a lecture with Dr. P. Terrence Hopmann on the OSCE at 50.

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Biography

Professor P. Terrence Hopmann, FPI Senior Fellow and former director of the SAIS Conflict Management Program, has conducted research on the OSCE beginning with interviews with the negotiators of the Helsinki Final Act in 1974. He has recently returned from a Fulbright Fellowship in Vienna, location of the OSCE headquarters. For almost 50 years he has done research based on interviews in Vienna and in many of its "missions" in conflict zones in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Central Asia, including Russia and Ukraine. His talk focuses on how the OSCE and its participating states are trying to manage the war between two of its biggest participants, which threatens the very existence of this important international institution.