In a new report, From Independence to Civil War: Atrocity Prevention and US Policy Toward South Sudan, Jon Temin, a Visiting Fellow at the Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center, explores how the US might have been more effective in helping prevent or mitigate the civil war and atrocities against civilians.
South Sudan is the country most likely to see an onset of mass killing in 2018, according to participants in the Early Warning Project’s most recent public wiki survey.
Six months ago the Simon-Skjodt Center published a report on risk for mass killing in Bangladesh, focusing on scenarios related to the elections later this year. The assessment’s conclusions stand today.
One goal of the Simon-Skjodt Center’s research program is to explore new methodologies to advance the state of the art in atrocity prevention. Towards this end, a recent pilot project analyzed dangerous speech in central Mali, building on the Holocaust Museum’s hate speech work and adding to the Early Warning Project’s broader Mali assessment.
On March 15th—the same day that it released a report on continued atrocity risks in Syria—the Simon-Skjodt Center hosted a panel discussion with Syrian and diaspora leaders to examine how civil society is responding to the violence and what might come next. Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster, US National Security Advisor, gave a keynote address. Holocaust survivor and Museum volunteer Irene Weiss also delivered remarks.
Holocaust survivor and Museum volunteer Irene Weiss delivers remarks at a Museum event marking seven years of deadly conflict in Syria and highlighting the strength and resilience of the Syrian people in the face of these crimes.
Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster delivers a keynote address acknowledging the bravery of Syrian civilians, condemning the crimes of the Assad regime, and discussing how the US government is working to hold perpetrators and their sponsors accountable.
In January 2018, staff from the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide traveled to Jordan and the Turkey-Syria border to assess ongoing and future risks to civilians in Syria. The report, “Is the Worst Yet to Come? Ongoing Mass Atrocity Risks in Syria,” highlights our findings and potential actions for the international community.
On Monday, January 29, a delegation of the United Nations Security Council visited the Museum’s exhibition on Syria as part of an official visit to Washington, DC.
The Ferencz Initiative is the newest pillar of the Simon-Skjodt Center's atrocity prevention work, which focuses specifically on the need for post-conflict accountability.
