Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

At the very end of last year I had the opportunity to moderate a panel at the United States Institute of Peace that served as the launch of a new report called the Global Terrorism Index. This is a one-of-its kind quantitative examination of the impact of terrorism around the world. It includes a look at the number of terrorism deaths, the geographic distribution of terrorist attacks (including the countries and regions where terrorism is on the increase or decrease) and importantly, it puts all this data into a broader historic context in which you are able to compare the data year-by-year. The Global Terrorism Index is researched, compiled and published by the global think tank the Institute for Economics and Peace. On the line with me to discuss the 2017 Global Terrorism Index, and explain what big data can tell us about terrorism around the world is Daniel Hyslop, research director at the Institute for Economics and Peace. In the conversation we also reference another flagship report from the Institute called the Positive Peace Report, which takes a quantitative approach to measuring attitudes, institutions and structures that "create and sustain peaceful societies." Both the Global Terrorism Index and the Positive Peace Report are some cutting edge research in global affairs. If you have 20 minutes and want to learn what long-term data can teach us about terrorism, have a listen.

Iran is in the midst of its most significant protest and popular uprising since 2009, when the so-called Green Revolution was quashed by the government. Now, since December 28th, tens of thousands of people -- possibly more -- have taken to the streets in several different cities in demonstrations against both the more moderate elected President of Iran Hassan Rouhani and the more hardline supreme leader Ali Khameni. As my guest today Ariane Tabatabai explains, these protests began largely as a response to worsening economic conditions and the rising cost of consumer goods. And unlike the 2009 protests, the people taking to the streets are mostly drawn from groups that have historically supported more conservative elements in the Islamic Republic. So this poses a serious political challenge the ruling authorities in Iran. In our conversation Ariane discusses the roots of these protests, how the spread so quickly and how the Iran nuclear deal is an important factor in the politics and economy of Iran. Ariane Tabatabai is the Director of Curriculum of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University

Since 2013, the government of Australia has enforced a policy of sending any refugee or migrant who arrives who arrives by boat to detention centers in Papua New Guinea or the remote island nation of Nauru. They do so without exception. Daniel Webb is an Australian lawyer who is fighting that policy. He is the Director of Legal Advocacy at Australia's Human Rights Law Center and he represents asylum seekers who are stranded indefinitely in Nauru and in Papua New Guinea. In 2016 Daniel helped lead a campaign called Let Them Stay, which petitioned the government to allow a few hundred of these asylum seekers who were transported from these islands to Australia for medical treatment to remain in the country. For his work on behalf of these asylum seekers Daniel received the 2017 Global Pluralism Award. He was one of three finalists. The award, "celebrates the extraordinary achievements of organizations, individuals and governments who are tackling the challenge of living peacefully and productively with diversity." It was conferred by the Global Pluralism Center, which is a partnership between the Government of Canada and the Aga Khan, the religious leader and philanthropist and head of the NGO, the Aga Khan Development Network. He and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada were on hand to present this award at a ceremony in Ottawa a couple months ago. I was in the audience, and after seeing his acceptance speech and learning more about his work I knew I had to get him on the show. It's a powerful conversation that shines a light on a profoundly unjust and ongoing situation.

On Thursday, December 21 the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning the United States' decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The resolution passed 128 to 9, with 35 abstentions, despite the fact that in the days leading up to the vote Donald Trump and Nikki Haley threatened to cut off US aid to any countries who voted against the United States. Meanwhile, a day earlier, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al Hussein announced that he is stepping down next year and not seeking another term as High Commissioner. This was a shock. Zeid is universally admired in the human rights community as a blunt voice unafraid of speaking truth to power -- indeed he has been sharply critical of Donald Trump. That could be why he's stepping down. In a letter to staff, he cited an in hospitable geo-political environment for human rights advocacy as his reason for leaving the post. On the line to discuss these issues, plus have a look back at the big stories that drove the UN agenda in 2017 is Richard Gowen, a UN expert with the European Council on Foreign Relations. This is a lively conversation that examines how some big trends that started in 2017 will shape world affairs and diplomacy at the UN in 2018.

Munira Khalif is the US Youth Observer to the United Nations. This is a position created in partnership between the State Department and the United Nations Association of the United States to help give youth a voice in official and semi-official diplomatic settings. Munira is a student at Harvard, though she is taking some time off to focus on this new role, in which she will serve for a year. And in this conversation Munira discusses her work and what is involved in giving youth a voice at the UN and in diplomatic settings and why she is using her position to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. When we spoke, Munira had recently returned from India where she participated in the Global Entrepreneurship and we kick off discussing that trip. We then have a broader conversation of what it means to engage youth around issues of importance to the broader UN-system.

The International Committee for the Red Cross/Red Crescent, otherwise known as the ICRC, is a singularly unique international organization. It was founded over 150 years ago to care for soldiers wounded in battle and has evolved substantially since then. Over the years, it has helped shape what is known today as International Humanitarian Law, which are the laws of war. This includes the Geneva Conventions in which the ICRC is specifically named. Today, the ICRC works in conflict zones around the world providing on-the-ground medical relief and other services to protect the rights and welfare of civilians and combatants in conflict. It also conducts what my guest today, Hugo Slim, calls Humanitarian Diplomacy at the United Nations and in capitals around the world. Slim is the policy director for ICRC and we discuss what Humanitarian Diplomacy entails, and have a broader conversation about the work of the ICRC around the world, including the distinct role it plays in interesting international affairs.

Dr. Mozhdeh Ghasemiyani is a psychologist with Doctors without Borders. She is a Kurdish refugee to Denmark and recently delivered a TED Talk describing her refugee experience. In the talk she draws on her knowledge as a psychologist specializing in trauma and PTSD to explain how the traumatic experiences of refugee children can have life long effects. Mozhdeh Ghasemiyani is someone i have known for years. We are both Humanity in Action Senior Fellows and lived in DC at the same time some years ago. The Ted Talk she delivered was at a TEDx event in Aarhus, Denmark. This episode is in two parts. First, you will hear that Ted Talk -- which is both powerful and enlightening. Then, Mozhdeh and I have an extended conversation about some of the stories she alludes to in the talk and also the broader political environment that caused her family to flee first from Iran right after the 1979 revolution, and then from Saddam Hussein's campaign of genocide against the Kurds. We also discuss her current work as a psychologist who specializes in working with refugee children. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

The United States will formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capitol and intends to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv — thus, decreed President Trump from the White House yesterday. The move bucks decades of US policy, which sought to include the status of Jerusalem as part of a broader peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Meanwhile, virtually the entire world warned President Trump against this declaration, fearing that it will sow instability throughout the region and erect yet another obstacle in the way of an already failing peace process. On the line with me to discuss the implications of this announcement to both the Arab-Israeli peace process and to regional politics more broadly is Marc Lynch. Lynch is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University's Elliot School; Director, Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) and one of my favorite middle east analysts. He explains why previous US administration's have held off on making this move. And, he puts this decision by Trump administration in the context of its broader policies towards the region. Lynch argues that Trump is making a high-stakes gamble with this Jerusalem gambit–the outcome of which is highly uncertain. If you have 20 minutes and want to understand the broader implications of the US decision to declare Jerusalem the capitol of Israel, have a listen.

Dr. Joanne Liu is the International President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), otherwise known as Doctors without Borders. She is a Canadian Pediatrician by training and has been with MSF for almost her entire career. She became the international head of MSF in 2013. We spoke not long after she visited MSF's operations in a stretch of land in Bangladesh called Cox's Bazar. This is where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees have fled from neighboring Myanmar in recent months and it is the site of one of the world's most urgent global humanitarian emergencies. Dr. Liu discusses the conditions there--and the kind of unique medical needs that stem from having such a massive population displacement in such a short period of time. We also discuss MSF's history--including how it gained a reputation as one of the more fearless global humanitarian organizations. And we also discuss some of the current big challenges facing MSF, including a seeming increase in the number of attacks on humanitarian and health facilities around the world. Dr. Liu tells a few very powerful stories, including a recent visit to a detention center for African migrants in Libya a place she calls "the most inhuman incarnation of men's cruelty" We also discuss in detail a tragedy that befell MSF in October 2015 when US fighter jets bombed an MSF hospital in Afghanistan, killing many of her colleagues. This episode shifts between wonky explanations of issues in world affairs, and her own very personal experience with those issues and I just want to thank Dr. Liu and the people at MSF for making this episode so powerful. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show

Agnès Marcaillou is the director of the United Nations Mine Action Service. This is the UN agency that helps clear mine fields, defuse IEDs and clean up unexploded ordinance around the world. It is the UN Bomb Squad. In this conversation, we discuss the problem of landmines and unexploded ordinance around the word, the work of UNMAS, and how funding shortages is preventing her agency from being maximally effective in places like Iraq, where UNMAS has received high praise for defusing a bomb-laden bridge in Fallujah to allow aid to enter the city following ISIS' defeat. Agnès has had a long career in the UN and I think younger professionals and students who listen to this show will find some inspiration in how Agnes was able to make a very big policy impact as a relatively junior UN staffer working on the Convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Last month, I saw Agnès give an acceptance speech at the Global Leadership Awards, which is an event hosted by United Nations Foundation. The way in which she both described the work of UNMAS and her own long experience in the UN system compelled me to reach out to her for an interview. This is a great conversation with a true bureaucratic entrepreneur. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show