POMED Notes: “Turkey’s Troubled Politics: Rising Influence and Eroding Freedoms”
On Friday, April 26th, the Project on Middle East Democracy held an event titled “Turkey's Troubled Politics: Rising Influence and Eroding Freedoms.” It featured Howard Eissenstat, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History at St. Lawrence University, and Yigal Schleifer, an independent journalist, analyst, and author of The Turko-file. Susan Corke, Director for Eurasia Programs at Freedom House, moderated. For full event notes continue reading, or click here for a PDF. Susan Corke opened the ...
April 26, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, EU, Israel, Journalism, Kurdish Region, Reform, Syria, Turkey, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Human Rights and Rule of Law in Egypt’s Young Democracy”
The Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a discussion titled "Human Rights and Rule of Law in Egypt’s Young Democracy" with Heba Morayef, Egypt Director for Human Rights Watch, and Mahmoud Salem, Egyptian political activist and founder of the blog “Rantings of a Sandmonkey.” Amy Hawthorne, incoming Senior Fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center, moderated the discussion, and Tarek Radwan, Associate Director for Research at the ...
March 20, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Courts and Judiciary, Egypt, Elections, EU, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political transition, Reform
U.S. Announces Nonlethal Assistance to Syrian Opposition
Secretary of State John Kerry announced Thursday that the United States will provide $60 million in nonlethal assistance to the Syrian Opposition Coalition. The assistance will include food rations and medical supplies as well as training, but according ...
February 28, 2013
Category: Conflict, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, EU, Featured, Foreign Aid, Syria, US foreign policy
Rights Groups, EU Officials Condemn Saudi Execution
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia executed Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan maid convicted of killing the infant she was caring for in 2005. Nafeek was 17 when the incident occurred, and she was tried and sentenced. She spoke no Arabic but ...
January 10, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Diplomacy, EU, Featured, Human Rights, Protests, Saudi Arabia, Women
December 31, 2012
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, EU, Featured, Jordan, Lebanon, Muslim Brotherhood, Political transition, Protests, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
Assad VP: Absolute Victory No Longer an Option
The U.S. Department of State called on both sides of the Syrian conflict to “stop unlawful attacks on civilians and comply with international law” on December 17. The call came after reports that a number of civilians had ...
December 18, 2012
Category: Diplomacy, EU, Featured, Freedom, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Lebanon, Palestine, Political transition, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
Khatib Meets E.U. Officials as Civil War Spills into Lebanon
Syrian National Coalition President Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib met with European Union leaders, including E.U. Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton on December 10. The European Commission announced that it would provide 30 million euros in humanitarian aid to the Syrian ...
December 10, 2012
Category: EU, Featured, Foreign Aid, Islamist movements, Lebanon, Political transition, Syria, US foreign policy
Meshaal to Visit Gaza, Netanyahu Travels to Germany
Khaled Meshaal is due to make his first ever visit to the Gaza Strip. He will join celebrations for Hamas’s 25th anniversary and meet members of different Palestinian movements, "as well as representatives of the families of martyrs, prisoners and those ...
December 6, 2012
Category: Diplomacy, EU, Featured, Islamist movements, Israel, Palestine, Political Islam, United Nations
U.N. Upgrades Palestinians Status to Nonmember State
The United Nations General Assembly approved the upgrade of Palestine to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations on Thursday, with 138 votes in favor, nine opposed, and 41 abstentions. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
November 30, 2012
Category: Congress, Economics, EU, Featured, Foreign Aid, Israel, NATO, Palestine, United Nations, US foreign policy
Weekly Wire – November 19th
POMED's Weekly Wire for November 19th is now available. In this week's edition we highlight these and other top stories: Jordanian Protests Surge, Protesters Face Charges Funds Pledged for European Endowment for Democracy Yemen’s National Dialogue Delayed Syrian Coalition Gains International Support New POMED Report Assesses Bahrain's BICI Progress To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.
Funds Pledged for European Endowment for Democracy
The European Commission announced the allocation of six million euro for the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), an organization that was proposed in December of 2011. Poland, who spearheaded the launch, committed an ...
November 14, 2012
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, EU, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights
Iranian Activists Awarded Human Rights Prize
The European Union awarded its Sakharov Prize for Human Rights and Freedom of Thought to two Iranian activists on October 26. Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi, both currently imprisoned by the Iranian regime, were awarded the ...
November 1, 2012
Category: Civil Liberties, EU, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Journalism, Legislation, NGOs, Qatar, Reform, Women
October 31, 2012
Category: Civil Liberties, Diplomacy, EU, Featured, Freedom, Kuwait, Palestine, Reform, United Nations, US foreign policy
October 23, 2012
Category: EU, Featured, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Protests, Syria, United Nations, US foreign policy
EU-Iran Hold Talks on Nuclear Program
Earlier this week EU Foreign Affairs Representative Catherine Ashton held talks with Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator,Saeed Jalili, in Istanbul. The EU said the dialogue was "useful and constructive," while Mr. Jalili said they discussed "common points." U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland
September 20, 2012
Category: Diplomacy, EU, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Tunisia in Transition: What Role for the International Community?”
On Sunday, July 8, 2012, POMED and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, in partnership with the Tunisian organization Afkar, held a one-day conference in Tunis entitled “Tunisia in Transition: What Role for the International Community?” The event examined critical issues surrounding U.S. and European assistance and policy approaches to support democracy and governance programs in Tunisia, and also explored some of the broader socio-economic challenges facing the country today. As Tunisians focus ...
July 12, 2012
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, EU, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, NGOs, Tunisia
EU Pressures Russia Over Syrian Crisis
European Union officials are meeting with Vladimir Putin today, and are expected to press the newly elected Russian president to take a stronger stance on the crisis in Syria. Russia has refused to take stronger action against Damascus by using its veto powers ...
Assad, Annan Talk to Salvage Ceasefire
According to Al Jazeera, joint UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has held talks with Bashar al-Assad after the UN human rights office declared that more than 85 people who were killed in the Houla region were "summarily executed". Annan "conveyed in frank terms ...
