INTRODUCTION
On July 26 the Museum hosted Voices from Congo: The Road Ahead, a unique conference that brought to Washington a Congolese perspective on the current political and human rights situation, and helped inform U.S. policy on Congo with constructive ideas and recommendations.
The conference convened at a time when the stakes for the Democratic Republic of the Congo were very high, not only for the country but also for the region. Preparations for elections scheduled for November 2011 were inadequate, political intimidation and violence were on the rise, and human rights violations remained rampant.
This event was cosponsored by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Eastern Congo Initiative, and made possible in part by the Helena Rubinstein Fund.
AGENDA
Welcome
Michael Chertoff
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Ben Affleck
Eastern Congo Initiative (via video)
Cindy McCain
Eastern Congo Initiative
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Panel I: Assessing the Human Rights Situation
Moderator:
Gwen Ifill
PBS NewsHour
Scott Campbell
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Catherine Kathungu
Association des Femmes Juristes pour les Droits de la Femme
Anneke Van Woudenberg
Human Rights Watch
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Panel II: Elections: Challenges and Opportunities
Moderator:
Colum Lynch
Washington Post
Barrie Freeman
National Democratic Institute
Chouchou Namegabe Dubuisson
Association des Femmes Médias du Sud-Kivu
Donat M’Baya
Journaliste en Danger
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Remarks
The Honorable Richard Durbin
U.S. Senate
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Closing
Carl Gershman
National Endowment for Democracy
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Annie Chebeya Mangbenga
Widow of Floribert Chebeya
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