Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies (CHRHS)

Human Rights and Humanitarian Action in an Increasingly Authoritarian Middle East

Thursday, February 24, 2022

12:00pm – 1:00pm

Leung Conference Room (110), Stephen Robert '62 Hall, 280 Brook Street

Open to Brown undergraduate and graduate students. Register here to attend the discussion.

This roundtable discussion with visiting scholar John Hursh will examine human rights and humanitarian action in the Middle East and North Africa, a region dominated by authoritarian political leaders and repressive governments. Assessed within the current U.S. and regional political dynamics, this discussion will explore how U.S. foreign policy can help strengthen human rights or contribute to human rights abuses, armed conflict, and humanitarian crises in the region. Undergraduate and graduate students interested in a career in human rights or the humanitarian sector are especially welcome.

Human Rights and Humanitarianism in Action

John Hursh is the Program Director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), an NGO founded by Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Kashoggi to promote democracy, the rule of law, and human rights for all of the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. Previously, he served as Director of Research at the Stockton Center for International Law and Editor-in-Chief of International Law Studies at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He also served as Policy Analyst at the Enough Project, an NGO based in Washington, DC working to end genocide and crimes against humanity, where he focused on Sudan.

He has completed research in Sudan and Uganda addressing human rights violations, humanitarian issues, and government corruption. He also observed peace negotiations between the Government of Sudan and armed opposition groups in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He has published numerous academic articles and book chapters addressing a range of human rights and humanitarian issues. He is a regular contributor to Just Security and his writing has appeared in African Arguments, World Politics Review, and Foreign Policy.