The Suffering of Strangers: Global Humanitarian Intervention in a Turbulent World

April 05, 2004

April 5-7, 2004

All sessions are free and open to the public and are held in the Templeton Student Center, Council Chamber. Parking for afternoon sessions is $3. Details are subject to change. For more information call 503-768-7630.

MONDAY, APRIL 5 

3:30 p.m. In Whose Hands: Who Should Intervene in a Humanitarian Crisis? 

Stewart Patrick is a member of the policy planning staff of the U.S. Department of State, where he helps formulate policy on Afghan reconstruction and is responsible for a range of global issues, including population, refugees, migration, and international environmental and developmental affairs. He first joined the policy planning staff as an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, Patrick was a research associate at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, where he also taught U.S. foreign policy.

Christophe Girod is head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Delegation for North America. He has spent the past several years working with the ICRC in locations such as Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Balkans, Switzerland, and the United States. Girod’s many roles with the ICRC have included delegate, delegation director, and project director. Recently he directed the People on War project; in 1990 he led the ICRC Gulf Crisis Task Force. Girod has published a book on the ICRC and the Gulf War. 

7:30 p.m. Selfless or Strategic: What Should Motivate Humanitarian Intervention? 

Arthur E. “Gene” Dewey is Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, where he oversees policies and manages $700 million in allocations for refugee programs. Previously, he filled the post of Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau for Refugee Programs, was the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, and led the Congressional Hunger Center. Dewey also served 25 years in the military and his work has included efforts around the world to emphasize political and humanitarian dimensions in the training of military forces. 

Frederick “Skip” Burkle is a senior scholar at the Center for International Emergency, Disaster, and Refugee Studies of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and is on the board of directors of the International Rescue Committee, the world’s largest refugee NGO. He was deputy assistant administrator for the Bureau of Global Health at USAID and founder and director of the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, which integrates military and civilian work in humanitarian emergencies. Burkle has worked to provide public health and humanitarian assistance following large-scale disasters in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. 

TUESDAY, APRIL 6 

3:30 p.m. Law Versus Anarchy: Should Intervention Follow Universal or Case-By-Case Guidelines? 

Fernando Tesón is a Tobias Simon Eminent Scholar at the Florida State University College of Law, and a former professor of law and philosophy at Arizona State University. He served as a diplomat with the Argentina Foreign Ministry and as Second Secretary in the Argentine Embassy in Brussels before resigning to protest human rights abuses by his government. Tesón is an expert in political philosophy, international law, and humanitarian intervention, and has written two books on these subjects. 

Taylor Seybolt is a program officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Prior to joining USIP, he was director of the Conflicts and Peace Enforcement Project at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden and a research fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Seybolt has written on humanitarian intervention, communal conflicts, and major armed conflict and lectured on these topics worldwide. Currently, he participates in the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. 

7:00 p.m. Live Coverage, Lives Saved: Does the Media Hurt or Help Humanitarian Efforts? 

Ann Maria Simmons is staff writer for the Metro Section of the Los Angeles Times, where she covers humanitarian issues related to immigrant communities. She has worked as the newspaper’s bureau chief in Johannesburg and Nairobi; as a Time Magazine correspondent in Washington, D.C., and Moscow; and as a staff writer for the Miami Herald, London’s The Voice, and the Caribbean Times. Her reporting has focused on social affairs, politics, sports, and human-interest issues. Simmons, who has been honored with several journalism awards, is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. 

Steven Livingston is associate professor of political communication and associate professor of international affairs at the School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University Elliot School of International Affairs. He is also a faculty associate in the university’s Space Policy Institute and chair of the board of the Public Diplomacy Institute. Livingston focuses his research and teaching on the role of extended media coverage in diplomatic and military operations, and analysis of global real-time media on policy response to humanitarian crises. 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 

3:30 p.m. Arms and Alms: Should the Military Play a Role in Humanitarian Intervention? 

Kimberly C. Field is a plans officer at George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany. A lieutenant colonel, she has participated in humanitarian and civil-military operations in Somalia and Afghanistan and served with the Department of State at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Field taught international relations theory at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and has written on the need for interagency cooperation and for developing operational and leadership capabilities beyond the Department of Defense in humanitarian operations. 

Jim White is director of program initiatives at Mercy Corps, a major humanitarian organization dedicated to alleviating suffering, poverty, and oppression around the world. Previously, he was regional director of the organization’s operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. White also led Mercy Corps’ emergency response to Chechen refugees in the North Caucasus in 1999 and 2000, and set up the organization’s program in New York in response to the events of 9/11. He has served with the American Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration, Relief International, and the Soros Foundation. 

7:00 p.m. Human Salvation or Mission Impossible: Is Intervention the Solution? 

John W. McDonald is cofounder and chair of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy in Washington, D.C., which focuses on national and international ethnic conflicts. He spent much of his long foreign service career in Western Europe and the Middle East, as well as several years working on development, economic, and social affairs with the UN. Lawyer, professor, and expert in negotiation and conflict resolution, McDonald has served as author or editor of eight books on these issues. 

Alan Kuperman is resident assistant professor of international relations at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies, where he teaches courses on ethnic conflict, conflict management, strategy and policy, and humanitarian intervention. Before entering academia, Kuperman worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as on the legislative staffs of two U.S. representatives. He has contributed chapters to several volumes and is featured regularly in scholarly journals. Kuperman recently published a book on humanitarian intervention.