President Bashar al-Assad's regime’s sudden defeat marked a surprising conclusion to the 13-year civil war in Syria. The incoming Trump Administration should undertake robust diplomacy at the highest levels to prevent further violence in Syria and the region, incentivize HTS and other potential spoilers to support a democratic transition, scale up conflict-sensitive humanitarian assistance, and deploy programs that prioritize stabilization, conflict and violent extremism prevention, and peacebuilding, in line with the principles of the Global Fragility Act (GFA).
Read MoreThree years have passed since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Since then, the situation for the people of Afghanistan has grown increasingly grave. The Taliban regime has created humanitarian, political, social, and economic disasters. These have directly affected the day-to-day lives of Afghans and caused mass displacement. Women and girls are particularly and disproportionately impacted. The Taliban has dispossessed them of their human rights. Afghanistan is indeed the most serious and severe women’s rights catastrophe in the world. Yet, the international community’s response has been tepid at best and conciliatory at worst. The international community must do more to stand with Afghan women as they struggle to restore their human rights. The U.S. in particular needs to demonstrate solidarity with the Afghan people who are suffering under the Taliban regime and continue to call out the systematic oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan.
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