Refugees International's 29th Anniversary Dinner

2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Textile Museum Event

June 27-July 1 and July 4-8, 2007 - The 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival featured several cultures, including that of the Mekong River region in Southeast Asia. The Bunong are one of the indigenous groups from this region who demonstrated the secrets of their culture at the Festival.

The Bunong weavers were also be the focus of an event at the Textile Museum on July 3rd, where they demonstrated their weaving technique. Learn more about the history of the Bunong, their tradition of weaving, and its importance to their culture.

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New York Circle: Screening of My Country, My Country

June 7, 2007 - Iraqis are now the world’s fastest growing refugee population – currently there are two million Iraqi refugees, and an additional 1.9 million Iraqis are displaced internally.

On June 7 we featured two screenings of the powerful documentary My Country, My Country. An Academy Award Nominee and Independent Spirit Award Nominee for Best Documentary, the film followed the real-life agonizing predicament and gradual descent of one man caught in the tragic conditions of war. Between the two screenings, filmmaker Laura Poitras and president of Refugees International, Ken Bacon, led an in-depth discussion on the growing humanitarian crisis in the region.

28th Anniversary Dinner Nets over $600,000; Honors Sir Mark and Lady Malloch Brown

May 3, 2007 - Refugees International celebrated its 28th Anniversary last week by honoring Sir Mark and Lady Malloch Brown with the 2007 McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award for their extraordinary service to refugees and displaced people. Thanks to our generous supporters, the dinner netted over $600,000 for Refugees International's lifesaving advocacy. The McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award was instituted in memory of three people -- David and Penny McCall and Yvette Pierpaoli -- who died during a Refugees International mission to Albania in 1999. Mark was the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN and head of the UN Development Program and his wife, Trish, has worked tirelessly to end poverty and injustice as a board member for Refugees International and through her own causes. We're not the only ones who admire Mark and Trish. Former President Bill Clinton, honorary co-chair of the dinner, sent a letter of congratulations in which he wrote, "You have been leaders unafraid to tell us hard truths about our world, but also visionaries who help us imagine a better day, giving us the will and ideas to achieve it."

2007 Washington Circle Spring Luncheon
NORTHERN UGANDA: WOMEN PURSUING PEACE

April 11, 2007 - This year's Washington Circle event focused on the 20-year conflict between the Government of Uganda and the notorious rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which has displaced 1.6 million people and created a humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda.

A tenuous ceasefire is currently in place, but a breakdown in peace talks between the government and the LRA threatens to undermine improvements in security in recent months.

The event featured Dr. Joyce Neu, a world-renowned conflict resolution specialist, and Betty Bigombe, who has been involved in peace negotiations in her native Uganda to end the LRA's insurgency since the early 1990s.

CASINO NIGHT
A Benefit to Support Refugees International's Lifesaving Advocacy

December 5, 2006 - The 2006 Casino Night, held at the Asia Society in New York City, was an exciting event to raise both funds and awareness of Refugees International’s work. George Soros, founder and chairman of the Open Society Institute and a member of RI's Emeritus Board of Directors, and Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, Vice Chairman of Perseus LLC and a member of RI's Board of Directors, were the featured speakers. The evening's activities included a poker salon, black jack tables, roulette wheels, crapps tables, slot machines and silent auction items.

New York Circle
Armed & Innocent: A Portrayal of Children and Conflict

October 25, 2006 - The New York Circle, working with The Advance Public & Charitable Network, brought "Armed & Innocent" to New York City. Held at the Australian Consulate, the event focused on the use of children as soldiers in areas of conflict. Fiona Guthrie, of the Media and Public Affairs Division of the Australian Mission to the United Nations, emceed the event. Author, filmmaker, and RI Board Member Roya Hakakian, introduced her documentary, Armed and Innocent, to the attendees, and Ishmeal Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone who is featured in Ms. Hakakian’s film, shared his very personal story of courage and strength.

Advancing Humanitarian Ideals
Honoring Julia Taft with RI's McCall Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award

October 12, 2006 -

2006 Washington Circle Fall Briefing
Where in the World has RI Been?

September 14, 2006 - The Washington Circle's fall event featured a briefing - "Where in the World has RI Been?" - on Refugees International's recent advocacy. Hosted by Elizabeth and Michael Galvin, the evening highlighted recent missions to Darfur, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Lebanon.

RI president Ken Bacon spoke about his August mission, where he surveyed the changes in basic protection and assistance caused by funding shortages and security problems. Advocate Rick Neal reported on the situation in DRC, which shows greater promise since the July elections; however, pockets of insecurity persist and children are still being conscripted by the militias in North and South Kivu. Advocates Kristele Younes and Sarah Martin’s spoke about ther recent assessments in Lebanon, where they found that the southern part of the country remains insecure and there are still concerns regarding shelter, water and electricity for the many displaced. Eileen Shields-West closed the evening by thanking those who attended and reminding all that it is their commitment to RI's work that enables the continuing monitoring and advocacy on behalf of these regions and many others.

2006 Washington Circle Spring Luncheon
Armed & Innocent: A Portrayal of Children and Conflict

April 27, 2006 - The Washington Circle's 2006 Spring Luncheon focused on the use of children as soldiers in areas of conflict. Her Majesty Queen Noor, a member of RI’s Board of Directors, introduced author and filmmaker Roya Hakakian and touched on the plight of young children who are denied their childhood as they become entangled in war and subjected to horrific violence. It is estimated that well over 300,000 children currently serve as soldiers in conflicts around the world. Roya Hakakian then presented her compelling documentary, Armed and Innocent, showing the personal experiences of children who have been forced to be direct participants in war. Ishmeal Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone who is featured in Ms. Hakakian’s film, vividly shared his very personal story of courage and strength.

On Our Watch Film Premiere

View "On Our Watch."
Learn More About the Crisis in Darfur.

Must Boys Be Boys? Ending Sexual Exploitation & Abuse in UN Peacekeeping Missions

October 18, 2005 - Refugees International and the Permanent Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations hosted a panel briefing on ending sexual exploitation and abuse in UN Peacekeeping Missions with Prince Zeid of Jordan and Anna Shotton from the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The briefing featured the launch of Refugees International’s new report, Must Boys Be Boys? Ending Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping Missions.

Read the report.
Read more about this event here.

Celebrating Peacemakers

October 11, 2005 - Refugees International honored Former Ambassador John C. Danforth for his work in ending the brutal civil war in southern Sudan, along with Law & Order star Sam Waterston, former UN Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power.

Read more about this event here.

Humanitarian Emergencies

"Tell the World What is Happening to Us"

July 19 & 20, 2005 -- Join Lesley Stahl, Co-Editor of 60 Minutes, Julia Taft, Former Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention & Recovery of the UN Development Programme and Kenneth H. Bacon, President of Refugees International for a private dinner on July 19 and a public discussion on July 20 in Jackson, Wyoming.

Read more about these events here.

North Korea: Today's Humanitarian and Human Rights Problems

May 12, 2005 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Refugees International are cosponsoring a special briefing that aims to shed light on the current humanitarian and human rights situation in North Korea. The briefing will feature the release of Refugees International’s new report, Acts of Betrayal: The Challenge of Protecting North Koreans in China. Participants include Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS); Richard Ragan, World Food Program Country Director; Joel Charny, Refugees International's Vice President for Policy; and David Hawk, former Executive Director of Amnesty International - USA. The panel will be moderated by Kurt Campbell, Senior Vice President and Director of the International Security Program, CSIS.

Read more about this event here.

2005 Washington Circle Luncheon with Author Samantha Power

March 3 - The Washington Circle is a group of women interested in advancing humanitarian issues. This month, their luncheon featured Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. At today's talk, Samantha Power urged us all to "keep the noise up" to pressure the UN and governments to stop the killing in Darfur.

Read more about this event here.