Notable speakers coming to UO for global justice events

The University of Oregon Global Justice Program and Decision Research, a nonprofit institute led by UO Professor Paul Slovic, have partnered to create a first-of-its-kind event series at the UO, covering a topic as old as history: government intervention in mass conflict and genocide.

The series, titled “To Intervene or Not? Government Decision-Making in Times of Genocide and Mass Atrocities,” will feature two events, free and open to the public, which aim to promote awareness of the issues today and encourage global activism.

“Governments such as the United States are often faced with deciding whether or not they should intervene to prevent or halt large-scale attacks, as was done in Libya and recently in Iraq,” said Ashleigh Landau, administrative director of the Global Justice Program. “The main purpose of this series is to gain a better understanding of how difficult decisions are made when it comes to intervening and saving human lives.”

The first event of the series is a keynote presentation by former Ambassador Princeton Lyman on Thursday, April 9, at 7 p.m. in the EMU ballroom. His speech, titled “Responding to Mass Atrocities: Personalities, Politics, and Principle,” will focus on his experiences as a U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan and as a senior adviser for the United States Institute of Peace.

The second event is an open panel discussion, “Preventing Mass Atrocities and Genocide: Strategies for the Future,” which will take place in the ballroom at 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 10. Led by United Nations special advisor Edward C. Luck, Ambassador Rick Barton and officer of the Canadian Army Philip Lancaster, the three will speak about their thoughts on the future of government intervention in mass conflict.

After the three leading panelists speak, a few political decisionmakers and decision scientists will respond with their own questions and comments. The entire panel will then be open to questions from students, faculty and the general public.

“The University of Oregon has a notably large population of individuals devoted to the protection of human rights and peacebuilding initiatives,” Landau said. “With these values, events such as these can help bring together the University of Oregon and the greater Eugene community.”

For more detailed information on the events and speakers, visit the Global Justice Program’s website. The event series is funded by the Carlton and Wilberta Ripley Savage Endowment for International Relations and Peace and a National Science Foundation grant to Decision Research.

— By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications intern