This week, the Washington Post published a poll showing that the U.S. Congress has set a new record for disapproval. A whopping 84 percent of Americans do not approve of the way Congress is doing its job. Media coverage of the House and Senate highlights the brinksmanship and polarized politicking that seems to surround every piece of legislation – and now, even routine nominations and confirmations.
“The goal is as simple as it is profound: to empower half the world’s population as equal partners in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened and affected by war, violence and insecurity. Achieving this goal is critical to our national and global security.” -- The US National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security
At the National Press Club today, members of the Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping (PEP) unveiled their new report, "US Engagement in International Peacekeeping: From Aspiration to Implementation." RI was proud to co-host the event with our other PEP partners, the Better World Campaign and Citizens for Global Solutions.
Today, Liberians head to the polls in the country's second presidential election since the end of a brutal fourteen-year civil war.
In 2009, I lived and worked in Liberia, and got to experience first-hand the diverse civil society that the country is famous for. During my time there, I met the National Election Council's (NEC) chairwoman Elisabeth Nelson, the first woman to hold the post. The NEC is crucial to making sure that all Liberians are engaged in a fair, transparent political process - and this includes women.
"Send me your female troops, your police, your civilian personnel and your senior diplomats and I will ensure that they are all considered; that qualified candidates are rostered; and that the maximum number is deployed to the field as quickly as humanly possible," was a call from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2008,and continues to have important implications for the United States, whose comparative surplus of qualified women staff would be an excellent resource for peacekeeping missions.
The Horn of Africa – Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Uganda – is experiencing the worst drought in 60 years, leaving millions of people to face starvation and overflowing refugee camps.